Into the Minds
by BFoS
Summary: Under Construction. Chapter 3 updated. 4 in the works. Still looking for a Beta Reader. Thank you. BFoS, 06/26/12.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning:** This story is **Under Construction**. Reading beyond this chapter at the time of this writing could and most probably would lead to the reading of bad writing, terrible grammar, and unforseen loopholes and/or bad descriptions or character dialogue. You have been warned.

Sincerely,

BFoS (01/04/11)

_**Into The Minds**_

**The ****Pokémon, the Trainer, and the Past**

The sun held a brief grasp on the Jolteon, who perched on the stepping stone he marked as his own. He watched it quietly, unwaveringly, almost becoming one with the mountain rock. Shaking away his hold, he locked gaze at the Pokémon adrift, who had wandered past their boundaries to gaze upon his spectacle. He gave a hiss and growl to let the wild know what belonged to him. Alone, he kept his guard up at the Western side of Mt. Chimney. His name was Zap.

He left his guard post and continued along what he considered his boundary. No one was to cross it. He felt he should pity the sap who made the trek to his territory, whether it be Pokémon or Trainer. This was his continual routine, and every day for the past month he has guarded his place. Making his way towards the northern corner, he passed his homely abode, and watched his mate, a Flareon, as she watched him from the mouth of the small enclosure, the one cave cut off from any other entrance, where he, his mate, and his kit lived. His _only_ kit. For Zap, every day was the same routine.

At the end of his boundary, he felt eyes watch him. But they weren't from afar in the forests, or up in the mountain. He knew these eyes as his mates. She came alongside him and watched the vast trees where the wild kept their distance when he was around.

Zap knew what was going to happen. He knew about where his mate came from. Lost from a trainer, Zap was the only one who could help her cope. Back then, he was not so uptight about security. It was about him and her. He thought several times about changing his mates name.

_Rachel. Ugh_, he thought. _The names humans come up with._

For one reason or another, she liked her name, and Zap wouldn't have taken away something that meant so much to her. He only wondered of her fascination with humans, which was always so mysterious. She named all of their kits, all with the fascination of humans in mind. All of them…until they had only one.

"What are you doing away from Cathrine." Zap said. It was very straightforward and statement-like, no question intended.

Cathrine was his intentional pronunciation of his naïve little kit. Rachel always gave her a human enunciation when she spoke her name, always Catherine, never Cath-rhine. But Zap refused, nowadays more than ever.

"Zap, it is time we stop," Rachel announced sadly. "Why must you keep doing these patrols? One day, Catherine will be caught by a trainer. It is the way life is."

Indeed, the day Catherine would be caught was the day he dreaded the most. When he returned her gaze, he knew it in her eyes that she dreaded that day just as much as he did. For whatever reason however, she accepted it. But Zap could not, even though he knew it to be true. Every time this talk would come about, he would continue to deny it and say that Catherine was not the only reason he guarded them with an iron paw.

"I do this because of their cruelty," Zap answered. "The _Trainers_."

"What cruelty? It is the way humans are."

Zap wanted anything but to accept her reality. "You must remember…what they did to us. To the _others_…!" He would not speak their names. They were his kits; stripped out of true life, given no chance.

His mate lent his eyes a sympathetic gaze. "It is the way life is."

Zap felt offended. He'd never side on the human fence, but could not let her tell him that life meant such a high tolerance of violence. "What they did to us, is _nothing_ like the humans I used to know. Those humans had no right to do what they had done!"

"Did you have the right to do what _you_ did?"

His memories were returning. As much as he wanted them bottled at the back of his mind, they always came back. It was the reason he kept his guard up, after all. It was a curse, really. There was nothing worse than the curse of remembrance.

"Those trainers…they knew that these kits were not ready for the world. They still belonged to us."

"Yes Zap; you made sure of it."

It was true. He turned away, back to the forests, back to the mountain trail, to any direction that was not directly at her face. The memories seeped back into his vision, and returned to him.

* * *

"Mark!"

Yes, the name as Zap would recall it. It was not a trainer he was calling, nor a human of any sort. It was one of his kits, with the name once again chosen by Rachel.

The harsh rains soaked his fur, more so his kit. The young Eevee looked helpless, defenseless, and the rain piled on his fur making him even heavier and struggle with every breath. The little Eevee was not going to make it alone, he was too worn-out.

"I can't walk anymore…" Mark said. His gaze was piercing, because he was so young.

Among the other kits, he was the strongest. But Zap must have misjudged his might when dealing with the weather and their long trek across the lands. His other kits could barely stand.

However, none of that mattered at that moment. Their den was not far.

"How far can you go?" Zap asked.

When the Eevee collapsed, the answer was evident.

Looking through the distance, Zap tried to find a ray of light. A route of least resistance; the grass was too thick on these parts, but he knew he had to get through them somehow. He motioned for Mark to follow, but when he could not, he backtracked towards his kit. Father and son, their eyes locked.

"Let's go," said Zap. "I'll stop the rain."

He bit down on the Eevee's fur, carrying him from the scruff of excessive fur. Truly the water did make him heavier. It was a chore to take him across the land, but he didn't want his kit to think any less of his father. He was a Pokémon who would show his kits full responsibility.

The rains, however, refused to make the task any easier. Added to that, the tall grass felt even harsher. Much like his kit, all he wanted now was to be free of the rain and struggling. He wanted to be in the shelter of his den, where he could rest and feel an ounce safer knowing his kit had somewhat survived a trek with his father.

The cave was not far in the distance. His vision was blurred due to the water coming into his eyes, but he could see the outline in the distance. He used even more of his own strength, pushing through the grass with more force, his kit looking from left to right.

"I hear sounds…" Mark mumbled.

_It's just the rain_, Zap thought. _It'll be over soon. We're almost home._

He continued on a sprint.

"I'm scared…"

The cave became slightly clearer. He sprinted inside, letting his kit slide upon the floor, and then shook the water out of his fur.

"Nothing to worry about," Zap laughed, an exhausted air following. But something felt wrong about the enclosure. It was not like he had left it. And he smelled something else which was not native to his kind. He took notice of the entrance, and noticed it to be significantly larger. Here, Zap began to feel the fear Mark had been trying to warn him about.

"Rachel, we are here—!"

He stopped. It felt wrong to announce his presense. He gave one gaze to Mark, the one gaze that told his kit to stay put and not make any sounds. Between he and his kit, he noticed a wire. It came from outside, but it ended somewhere inside their den. Zap followed it quietly.

_Where are they?_ He questioned. _Rachel, where did you and the other kits go?_

The other kits. Danny, Sarah, and Catherine. He hoped that his family was safe.

There was more light deeper in the cave. One of their walls had been torn down as well, leading to more intricate structures Zap was not aware of. The wire continued beyond the tunnel. In the distance, he saw a light, and it was closely approaching.

_Humans!_ Zap hissed.

To his right, the nesting ground where Rachel and the kits napped was left unattended. There was a device beside it, and he knew what it was. He had seen one before, and Rachel had told him what it was. It was a laptop, further confirming the arrival of the humans.

Behind him, a voice shouted out, "Score! We got another Eevee _and_ a Jolteon!"

* * *

It was all he would allow himself to remember. The remainder of the memory was too painful to recall just now. He returned those memories back to that dark place in the back of his mind, but knew it would do nothing. The fact remained that there was still a physical memory, involved in his life by waking up every day to find three of his kits missing.

"Was there something more you wanted to tell me?" Zap asked.

He hated to think of his mate without the tender care they had started with, but it was the only way to remain faithful as their guardian. He needed no attachments if he truly wanted her safe.

She brushed against him, hoping to lure him back towards the cave. But when he did not take the bait, she answered him, as the pushed away figure she had become.

"I just wanted you to come back home."

* * *

The town of Rustboro City is known for being the first stop traveling Pokémon trainers visit. Within its city limits are a vast assortment of trainer goodies: a trainer school, a GYM leader, and even the fantastic technologies organization, Devon Corp. As the sun settled down before the horizon, a house up on a hill began to fill with people, who started loud music and ordered several amounts of pizzas. Tonight, the town champ returned home, and his family and relatives, and every one of his friends, were sure to be there to cheer him upon arrival.

Darry Lucian and his brother Charley arrived at the same time. Darry wasn't so much surprised when everyone popped out from behind every hidden corner of the house to greet him on their little party, partly because it was expected of them and partly because all the vehicles out at the front were a major giveaway.

"You guys are great," Darry said with a smile.

Charley meanwhile, eased his way into the crowd, to get lost in the mass of faces who he sometimes knew, sometimes did not. It wasn't because he was not happy for his brother, but he seriously didn't want to be surrounded by people. He found himself on a kitchen stool. The pizza had been set down on the table, a good distance away from him. He had long since outgrown the taste of it, but when offered a slice, he took one to appear normal.

His 11 year old cousin sat next to him for awhile, who talked about his own trainer journey so far.

"I've been to so many places!" his cousin Marvin exclaimed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you! I also saw Darry a lot, but I haven't been to as many places as he was. I'll tell you though, when I saw him in Slateport, and he told me he was going to challenge the Elite Four, I was just so amazed—!"

_Yeah and you almost got him killed_, Charley thought.

"Listen," said Charley. "Why don't you go talk to Darry. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear about everything you have to say about your journey."

"Yeah, I did, but he was talking to so many people at the same time, and it didn't seem like he could listen to me right, so he told me to talk to you about everything, which is still pretty cool really, because you're still on your journey too!"

Charley shot a glance at Darry. It went unnoticed, since his 16 year old brother was still busy at the moment.

"Charley?"

"What?" It seemed Marvin was still trying to talk to him.

"So how many badges do you got?"

The one thing the 13 year old dreaded the most was coming to a party filled with relatives because he was afraid someone would ask that one simple and common question. It felt even worse coming from Marvin.

"I've got a few," Charley replied.

"Yeah, but how many?"

"Enough. Listen, I don't feel so good right now. Can we talk later?"

Marvin seemed upset. Reluctantly though, he agreed.

There was a momentary silence between the two.

"How many Pokémon have you caught?"

Charley said nothing for a moment. "I…I can't even remember."

"Oh…well, ok. I'll see you later, I think Darry doesn't have anyone to talk to now. Hey Darry!"

Marvin ran off to go catch his brother. Charley sighed, took a whiff of the pizza, and then a single bite.

"Yum," he said dejectedly, then pushed the plate away. His bag was at his feet, looking still as fresh and new as the day he'd gotten it. It was a complete contrast to Darry's, and even Marvin's bags, who had signs of wear and dirt, and very messy usage. From his bag, he pulled his Pokédex. The backlight came on, and from the start menu, he found the number of Pokémon recorded not-surprisingly low.

"One," Charley sighed, if anything, to hide the depressed feeling he was getting.

He thought about Darry's journey a lot. When he looked around the party, he felt rejected. Everyone cheered for Darry, and he did not even beat the Elite Four. He beat three out of four, not even meeting the champion. In all honesty, Charley was beginning to feel a little jealous.

"Hey."

Darry was by his side now

"Darry, what's up?" Charley looked around. "Hey, wasn't Marvin supposed to be looking for you?"

His brother pointed towards the bathroom, where his cousin was seemingly talking continually to someone inside. The rear door to the bathroom, however, was left open.

"Technically I'm listening to every word he's saying. But I got to get back there anyway before he feels really abandon." His tone became serious now. "C'mon bro, what's got you down? I can see it a mile away."

"I'm good," Charley replied.

"I don't see it. You need to relax a little. We're home, you're safe, and damn that's a blessing you need to count." Charley didn't seem stirred by this. "Listen, if you want, I can go ahead and tell the truth. I can try to make what happened seem believable. I know what you're probably going through, and I want to take care of you. We're a team."

_Yeah, and you're _still_ treating me like I'm still on your team_, Charley thought.

"You don't have to worry about anything," Charley said. He looked down at his bags. They all seemed so unused, and it annoyed him to be the one to come home without the grit. "In fact, I think I might quit training altogether."

Darry seemed unsure how to answer that. But to Charley, it didn't matter how he would, if he even said a word.

"I'm going to our room," Charley continued. "But you enjoy the party. It's meant for you. I am very happy at how far you've come, Darry. After your adventure around Hoenn, there's absolutely _nothing_ more than can surprise or stop you."

Charley stood from the stool. He was tired now, but his brother stopped him before he left.

"Take these," he said.

It was a badge case. When Charley opened the case, inside laid all eight badges Darry had won.

"After all we've been through, I'd say you've earned them."

Charley was frozen, questions running through his minds. "I can't take these—"

"Actually, you can," Darry assured. "The Elite Four already have me registered. I don't need to present the badges twice. And you know what? You've earned them. More than I ever could."

"I…wow, thanks Darry," Charley said. There was a bit of enthusiasm carried behind his voice. It was a gift that would not go unnoticed.

Charley reached out to shake his hand. Darry pulled him in, to a hug.

"Don't worry about a thing. It'll all work out in the end."

Upon release, Charley nodded, and continued on his way, up the stairs, to his room, where he would rest for the remainder of the night.

* * *

He laid on his bed, trying several different sleeping positions. He never had so much trouble finding a way to sleep before, but the past few days had been very different. There was no sleep coming. Not even the party was sizzling out. It only seemed to get louder.

But later on in the night, the people began to leave, and the sounds that had escalated were gone with them. Almost the moment when he felt everyone had left, the door was pushed open.

In came his brother, finally throwing his backpack on his bed, opposite to Charley. They shared a room. It looked like Charley would be spending a few more days with his brother than expected.

"You won't believe what I just got," Darry said excitedly.

"What did you get?" Charley replied tiredly, no interest in his voice.

"Bing! Check this out."

Turning again, Charley looked at what was on his hands. The lights turned on, forcing him to wince at the sudden brightness. He took another look at what Darry held.

A ticket.

"No way," Charley said in shock and amusement. "That's for the S.S. Tidal!"

"Wait, not done yet," he said, and pulled out another from his backpack. "Two of them."

Charley looked at the tickets, unsure of what to make of them now. "Wow—who gave these to you? You're going to the Battle Frontier?"

"You bet. And you're coming with me."

"Why?"

It was a sudden question, not in wonder, but a seriously question-y 'why'.

Darry paused, noticing the change in tone of the conversation.

"I figured, since you helped me out, this would be a perfect chance to get more of your own challenges."

"'my own challenges'?"

Darry tried to tread along carefully now.

"Listen, I know it was tough," he began. "These tickets were meant for me, and a friend of my choosing to come along." He paused once more. With a grin, he added. "And I choose you, Charley."

"Ha, funny, why aren't I laughing," Charley said sarcastically, but no longer with heavy anger, and more accepting.

"Come on. Will you come with me?"

"Why?"

"…uh…because you're my _brother_ maybe?" Charley didn't respond. "Okay, listen Charley. You're the only one who believed in me. I know that right now, being a trainer is probably the last thing on your mind, but I think you could be the best trainer who ever lived." Darry sat beside his brother, the tickets still at hand. With his other hand, he reached onto his belt, and removed a Pokéball. "This was meant for me, as a gift, but I think you need it more." He handed the ball to Charley.

Holding onto the device and looking right into it, he asked his brother, "What's in it?"

Darry jumped on over to his bed. "Just open it. Find out."

Charley was worried at first. He shook off the feeling and told himself it was only a Pokémon inside, and nothing else would come of it.

"Okay…"

He pressed the button release. The ball opened, a red energy escaping to form a small sized Pokémon in front of his eyes.

"Pika?" the small mouse-like Pokémon looked up at him.

Charley returned his gaze to Darry, unable to say a word. He sighed and returned the creature back to its ball, and places the device upon his night stand. He returned to finding a position to sleep with, leaving Darry to his inventory check.

* * *

Night had fallen beyond midnight. Late in the night, Charley finally found a sleeping position and had just barely been able to drift on to a dreamland. The night was quiet, almost peaceful.

There was a brief tap on the window. It was enough to return Charley to the waking world.

"Come…on…!" Charley groaned. He turned around again, his gaze going to the nightstand where his new Pokémon was held deep within the Pokéball. He wondered if Darry knew what was inside the ball before giving it to him. He had some very bad experiences with that particular species for a long time.

_He couldn't have known_, Charley thought. _He wouldn't have done that. It was just the luck I have._

There was another tap on his window. Charley stood up in bed, taking in a yawn that further made him more restless. He looked at the window. There was nothing there. At least, nothing he could see.

Charley stood on wobbly knees and walked towards the window to take a peek at what could possibly be tapping against his window.

There was nothing outside. Not even a tree with overgrown branches reaching towards him.

Charley opened the window to see if there was anyone outside who was trying to get his or his brother's attention.

_Probably throwing rocks to wake us up._

But again, there was no one out there.

Charley turned away, scratching the back of his head.

_What's going on here?_

Another tap.

Charley turned around slowly. There was nothing even close to tapping against the glass. Charley closed the window and backed away. He returned to his bed and kept watching, waiting for something else to happen. He was going to sit up and watch the window to see what was causing the tapping before he'd do anything else.

A while had passed. He continued his watch, but he was growing weary, and much sleepier.

Some more time had passed. He shut his eyes for just a moment. A moment time which felt even longer than it should. He counted the seconds, and counted until he didn't know why he was counting, before finally opening his eyes.

The window was gone. It was a wall. A four walled room, with a door leading out to the hall. Darry was still asleep, and their belongings were where they were supposed to be. But the window was gone.

He took a second glance, unsure, thinking maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. But he remembered the last time he had that feeling, and it nearly destroyed him.

The wall became a smoky substance. And within seconds, it spread itself onto the ceiling, revealing the hidden window.

Charley gasped.

The smoky substance became black, and started to drip like liquid ooze onto the floor.

"Darry!" Charley shouted, but it was too late. His brother was asleep, and being covered by a coat of the smoky substance. "No!"

Charley jumped out of bed and grabbed his Pokéball. He sprinted towards his brother's bedpost and grabbed his brother's belt, which carried all his Pokémon.

_There can't be any Pokémon in this room!_

He opened the door, but his wrist with his Pokéball got caught by a tentacle strong substance, pulling him back. Charley threw his brother's belt out into the hallway, and using his free hand, snatched the ball in his other hand to throw down the hall as well.

As soon as he was left without any Pokémon at hand, the substance let go. A low growl from within the substance resounded around the house, and the thing clustered together to become a wall of darkness, letting his brother free.

"Sorry Darry!" Charley shouted, and shut the door.

Holding the door shut, he could feel the substance rubbing against the door, trying to find a way to open it. Below him, Charley could see it seeping underneath the door. To his sides and above him, the smoke was breaking through the door.

Charley walked back slowly, afraid to touch the door, but he tripped on his brother's belt. Behind him were the stairs, which he tumbled down every step.

A hand to his side, he rubbed his nose at the bottom. He was bleeding. Not only from there, but on his knee. He tried to get on his feet, but it hurt.

He felt the smoke coming. He could see the smoke coming down the stairs, coming right at him.

Charley crawled out of the way, pulling himself to the kitchen entrance.

"Help!" he shouted, hoping someone would wake up and see what was happening.

The smoke caught up to him, encircling his body.

"No! Someone help!"

He was flipped and pushed against the refrigerator, choking at the pressure held against his neck, arms and legs. He could not shout for anymore help.

"No—I—won—," Charley cried.

The dark liquid smoke oozed its way up in front of him, and started twirl, beginning to form a circle. It was going to take him. Once that happened, it would be the end of his life.

_This is it…_

Charley stopped struggling, a tear escaping him. All his thoughts were of his family, and how he never had the proper chance to say good-bye to any of them. But he was grateful that he got to see them one last time.

The lights came on, and the smoke vanished in a flash. Charley fell to the floor, coughing and choking, unable to hold his breath.

"Charley!"

Darry was in the room. He came immediately to Charley's aid.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Charley could not answer him. He was dizzy, and his throat was suddenly dry.

"I'm here for you; can you stand?"

There was fear in Charley's eyes. He spoke, his throat hurting so much.

"It—it came back—!" He found blood on his hands, probably from his nose. He coughed, the pain continuing. Following his cough, blood dripped from his mouth. He faced Darry again, teary eyed. "_It's back_!" he whispered in a panic. "_It's here_. It's _back again_. And it tried to kill me!"

It was all Charley had to say for Darry to understand. The memories, the horrifying incident; what was almost impossible to imagine had ever existed was in Rustboro City that night, ready to finish the job it started. The curse on Charley had not been lifted.


	2. The Curse's Victim

This is yet another official update. If you're reading this, you probably read the first chapter and decided to continue. Please let it be known that this and the first chapter are the only completely revamped chapters available. Any chapters that follow this as of January 23, 2011, are not edited even if they say that they are. The only surefire way you will know if the chapter is completely re-editted is if it has a letter of approval by me like the first chapter and this chapter.

Thank You,

BFoS (01/23/11)

**Chapter 2: The Curse's Victim**

It had gotten late. Zap returned to his den, alert and ready for battle.

_No wires here_, he thought, and eased his guard.

Inside, his den was much smaller than his previous home locations. It was all a den was supposed to be; a small hollow, where one could live out in shelter, with a fountain of flowing water at the end. The remainder of their needs would be found down in the fields. However, for such a long time, Zap had been the only one who had ever left their den for any resources.

Tonight was much different. He took great notice when stepping inside and gave one long sweep of their rugged living spaces. Someone was amiss, leaving Zap startled for what was the first time in months.

He rushed up to Rachel, who appeared sound asleep.

"Where is she?" Zap shouted.

Rachel awoke quickly.

"Whom?"

"Cathrine; where did she go?" Zap asked, through gritted teeth.

"Is she not back?"

_She let her wander!_ Zap thought.

He backed away from his mate, looking back towards the exit.

"Which way?"

"She went out to the fields—wait! Zap!"

He was gone in an instant, trotting out of the den in a blur, and jumping from rock-to-rock down the mountain path with expertise. Rachel did not follow. She stood by the entrance, and watched at a distance as Zap reached the base of the mountain, and continued onwards into the forest. She began to have feelings that maybe this was a bad idea. She just could not figure out who it was worse for.

* * *

_What does she think she is doing! How does she have the gull to leave like she owns the world! And what was Rachel doing when she decided to run away!_

Angry thoughts ran through Zap's mind, but he could not help himself. His adrenaline was high and his mind had jumped from at ease so fast, sparks flashed with every step in his agile trot. His sparks were sure to attract any wondering Pokémon, and could even alert humans of his location faster than an Abra could teleport away from danger. But none of that mattered. What did matter, Zap could not muster into a coherent thought. Even through all his anger, there was only one name in high regards.

_Cathrine!_

* * *

She had a bruised paw. It was nothing she couldn't fake; it only hurt a little bit.

The Eevee had just finished a fight with a wondering Sandshrew, and was victorious. It had been her first battle against a wild, and she was feeling joyous.

"Something to tell mother for sure," Catherine laughed. Night had fallen. She had been out before, at least twice, but had never found a wild Pokémon to fight. Her mother had played distraction so she could move freely without the wondering eyes of her father. It was getting home that became the chore.

In both instances when she returned, she was caught by her father. She had been able to successfully lie to him, saying she had only just left to take a look at the scenery, a sight she never got much viewing pleasure of in the first place. She was returned home under the watchful eyes of her father, and then administered punishment by her mother. All she had to do was fake the scolding and short instance of pain when she'd be bitten. But the instant was beginning to grow into a swat of the paw. She believed that if she were to be administered punishment again, she'd really need to stretch her reaction to seem fragile.

For the past months, ever since the attack at their old den, Catherine was trained by her mother. Once Rachel knew the schedule of Zap's frequent on-guard trips, she carefully trained her kit to become a fighter, so she could readily defend herself.

She would relish speaking with her mother every instance of her first battle. The problem however, was finding a way back.

She hadn't been out during the night before. The darkness made things appear changed, and she could not find her return path. Catherine hadn't planned on making this an obstacle, but the longer she stayed out, the more she feared she wasn't going to make it back until dawn.

Unnerved but motivated, she refused to cower and retreat to a shelter and wait out the night.

_Consequences would be worse if my father found out_, she thought.

She took only a moment to clear her mind before taking a run at a tree, digging her claws into the bark to reach the first branch. From there, she climbed to the tallest branch, kicking soot out the leaves with her disturbance.

_I must be towards the northern side of the mountain._

From the top branch, she could clearly see the towering mountain's direction, as well as a sea of trees ahead of her. She had gone off-course.

_It will take me ages to get back!_

Wasting no time, she eased her way down, jumping off before the last branch and landing with a bit of struggle. The ground was not easy on her paws, but she knew the way now, and ran as fast as her legs would carry.

Catherine was being a nuance to the surrounding habitat. So much so, that a resident had to step in.

She was caught off guard and tackled by a Sandslash. The two rolled for a moment or two. Now the wild creature had his grip on the Eevee, who growled and teeth were bared.

Catherine tried to bite back, and when he pulled back, she swiftly pulled away and trotted a safe distance back.

The two stared each other down, their only means of communication being the growling and scowling towards each other.

Behind the monster was the smaller Pokémon she had injured earlier that day.

_He went back for his father? Well his father's going to get it too!_

Catherine stood her ground, ready for the second fight of the night.

The Sandslash hulked his way towards her with a running start for the second hit—

—and was interrupted halfway by a flash of yellow, a surprise attack much like the one he had done to her.

Zap could not hold down the Pokémon because of its larger size, but he was able to climb onto his quill back, holding on and running a surge of electricity through the beast's body. From his hold, he bit down on a quill and kicked off the Sandslash, taking his prize with him.

Dazed, the Sandslash tried to zero in on the new target. Catching wind of Zap, he wasted no time in rolling into a ball and speeding towards him.

Moments before impact, Zap shot a powerful thunder on the ground before him. The Pokémon was hit and pushed back, hurt some more.

Recuperating, the Sandslash tried to find Zap's new location, and in a flash faster than lightning, Zap had tackled him head-on with enough force to take him a few feet back and have him vulnerable against a tree. From his position, Zap attacked, scratched, bit, and zapped his opponent, who was unable to regain his strength.

The Sandslash was on the ground now, breathless. Zap had ceased his onslaught.

"You—are strong," the Sandslash admitted.

Zap said no word. His legs felt weak. He had given his all on this attack. He was tired and breathing hard. But he was not going to show it.

"The little brat needs to know its place," the Sandslash continued, standing. "We won't be a bother. But know that if you ever cross our territory again, it won't be me alone you will have to answer to."

The Sandslash left, along with the sandshrew. Zap could still hear their conversations, about knowing your own strength and when to quit. He was about to have a father to daughter conversation himself, but it wouldn't be so understanding.

"That was incredible, Dad!"

Zap turned, stone-faced. His Catherine was beaming, overtly excited about the battle.

"Save it. We're going home, Cathrine."

He moved past her, kicked the Sandslash's quill off the path, and motioned for her to follow. She did, and trotting along, kept talking.

"I know—I was just saying—"

Zap stopped and faced his daughter, a small growl emanating from within.

"I am not proud of what just happened here," he said. "This should not have happened. At all. You are in trouble, and will deal with the consequences when we get home."

He turned to leave. Catherine did not follow immediately. New feelings were starting to surface, and she was becoming increasingly angrier. She trotted to Zap's side and then stopped right in front of him.

"Step aside," Zap commanded in annoyance.

"No."

"Oh?" Impatience began to boil inside him.

"I—I'm not your little one anymore!" She shouted. "I'm tired of being treated like a child; I have experience in fighting! And it certainly didn't come from you."

"You do not know what you are saying. Come with me _now_."

Catherine bit her father's paw. It was a hard bite that coursed with more pain than he expected from her. His loosely held anger was unraveling.

"I am your father! What do you think you are doing?"

"I can fight my own battles, _father_! Mother taught me!"

Zap's heart stopped. "What did you say?"

"Moth—"

"_What did you_ SAY!"

Catherine recoiled. "I—I'm stronger than you think."

Angry, awful thoughts were running through Zap's mind. "And how strong do you _think_ you are?"

"I can fight you!"

Zap scoffed at the idea. He swatted his daughter across her muzzle with a paw. Then he did it again. "Show me then. You think you can beat me then show me what your mother taught you."

When she wouldn't react to the swatting, he scratched her. She cried, not expecting the hit. Now she looked nervously upon her father.

"I want to see what you think you know, so show me!"

She backed up, ready to whimper. Her fear was evident.

"Did you mother teach you to _dodge_?"

Zap jumped on his daughter, and rolled around with her until he was on top. He growled, so close to her and ready to slit her throat that instance. His fur was on end. Catherine was in pain, whimpering in the lonely night. No help was going to come.

"I could kill you right now. You just failed. What—did your mother—teach you?"

Catherine thought for a moment. She looked up at her father, a completely different Pokémon than the one she thought she knew well. She tried to bite him, but he put his paw on her neck, so close to stopping her breathing.

"Nope; you are not getting out of this one that easy. So how are you going to handle this situation?"

She kicked and squirmed, trying to free herself, still at a whimper.

"Stop whining and get out of this. I don't see any of your training; what's wrong?"

The more she tried, the more she realized she wasn't going anywhere. She tried to growl back at him, but it was hard; he held her at a position where she was completely helpless.

Then he let go of her. He got off, and allowed her to catch her breath. When she had calmed, he looked at her pitilessly.

"You know nothing about fighting in the wild. Out here, there is no surrender. Out here, you die."

He smirked. He sincerely felt he got his point across. As he walked away, Catherine followed steadily. She watched her father intently.

"You can drop at ease now," Zap said.

But Catherine was quick to attack. She jumped onto his back, remembering his attack on the Sandslash. Once again, the two rolled upon the ground, but in the end, Zap still had the upper hand. Then he let a surge of electricity run through his kit.

Pains like none before coursed through her, and she couldn't attack or cry. Her mind shut down, and all she could feel was the static. Even when he stopped, she was still shaking from the shock.

"Electricity is _very_ different from fire," Zap taunted, severely upset that his daughter was still trying to take him down. "You can't be immune to everything by just training with your mother. You lose."

He stopped, looking down at his helpless kit. She was done. He could tell from where he stood that she wasn't going to be able to stand.

"Cathrine?"

She had stopped shaking, but was not moving.

_Did I just…_

Upon closer inspection, he found her still breathing. Zap sighed in relief. She most likely fainted from the shock.

"You are so weak," he commented, and scooped her up from the scruff of her back. She was much heavier than he anticipated. Slowly, he managed to make his way back towards home.

_She had her lesson_, Zap thought. _She better have_.

* * *

"What have you _done_?" Rachel growled.

"I did nothing," Zap evaded.

"You lie! I can smell it!"

Catherine was lying on a pile of reeds, still beaten from the fight. When Zap had brought her in, Rachel immediately began tending to her daughter, but one whiff of static and a jerking motion from the Eevee told her everything.

"What did you think you were doing when you shocked her?"

Zap tried to answer her in his perspective. "I was giving her a taste of the real world. She doesn't realize what dangers lurk out in the distance, and she had the spite in her to lash out on me!"

"She is trying to grow, Zap, what did you expect? Did you think we would be here for all eternity, living in your fantasy?"

"My fantasy? I am here to protect _you_! Both of you! And Cathrine has given me a tip about what's been going on around this place while I'm out. What did _you_ think you were doing?"

Rachel paused. She knew one day he would find out, but had prepared a way to easily tell him. Now, her anger was taking her a different route.

"_I _was doing what _you never could_."

"Do you think I cannot train my own daughter?"

"I have the competency to know that you _will not_ train your own daughter. You changed after the others were taken."

"Do not dare speak of them!"

"No Zap! It is time you let this go. It was a sad day to witness, but there is a brighter future out there. I want you to leave this place _tonight_. Do not return until you've changed."

"I am not going anywhere."

The flames that licked his feet told him otherwise. Fire seethed through Rachel, and the heat was intensifying she stepped closer to Zap, breathing flames out of her nostrils. And when she spoke, flame spit towards his feet again.

"Leave!" she growled.

He tried to answer to her. He told her the only thing he could. "I was helping her."

Rachel's flames subsiding, but the heat remained. She watched him, glassy eyed, almost teary.

"What you've done these past months…has done nothing to help us. When are you going to understand that _out there, you live_."

A tear rolled down her fur. She retreated towards Catherine. When Zap tried to follow, she turned back and growled intensely, almost a hiss.

He stopped in his tracks and looked down at his paws. He closed his eyes, his mind boggling for a way to get out of this.

"For how long do you want me gone?" he asked.

"However long it takes."

Zap understood. For the first time, he understood everything. He now knew the hurt he had caused his family, in the name of protection.

"I will return," he said.

Zap left the den. Rachel stood by her daughter, nuzzling her fur and tending to her needs. She was afraid something like this would happen. Now that it had come to pass, she wasn't sure how to move forward.

* * *

"What is going on down there?"

Rapid footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs. Darry helped his brother to his feet.

"You got to clean yourself up, Charley," he whispered. "Our parents _cannot_ know about us; I'll take care of the mess here. Go!"

Charley took stumbling steps out the second entrance to the kitchen. He took one peek back and saw his brother was quick enough to already have a jar of tomato sauce to spill over the blood he left behind.

_At least I didn't leave a trail of blood behind me_, he thought.

He hesitated when entering the bathroom. He would be alone in there, which was the last thing he wanted after knowing the curse was still after him. But he went in anyway, because he knew his brother was right. It was better the curse did not go through his family like bowling pins.

He was a mess. There was no way he could take off the stains with a few towels or napkins. He'd have to take another shower for it to go away, and do the laundry himself. He hadn't done laundry since the beginning of his journey, when his mother taught him.

_It's not too hard._

He cleaned up his face, leaving all traces of blood on the towel.

Charley heard his parents arguing with his brother. From what he could get, his brother lied by saying he was having some leftover pizza, but dropped some sauce when he was about to add more.

"I'll clean it up, I promise," Charley faintly heard his brother say.

He sighed.

He waited in the bathroom, listening to the heated debate between his parents and his brother. To think hours earlier, the same people had been praising him on his good work. Not tonight.

Now Charley had a headache.

He looked himself in the mirror one more time and saw the vulnerability of his build. He wasn't made for survival. He didn't have muscles of any sort. It's a shame, because he had spent so many days training for the strength. It was all gone now.

The curse. It was an evil thing, bent on pure destruction. Its only purpose was to destroy lives of those it touched.

The thing wasn't dead. From the looks of it, after everything he had been through, it wasn't going to. There was not a thing in the universe that could destroy it.

_But I won't let it destroy us_, Charley thought.

With determination in his heart, he knew what he had to do. He couldn't stay. He and had to leave for the sake of family. If anyone else had to die, it would be himself alone, the final victim.

* * *

The heat had settled down. Charley was back in his room, and Darry was by his side. It looked fine, minus the broken window, though Charley hadn't been in the room when it cracked.

Darry was on his bed, scratching the back of his head. "So it was all over me?"

"Yeah," Charley said. "It was everywhere. I couldn't believe it when I saw it."

"If it was so close, why didn't you do anything to stop it?"

Charley sat down on his bed. "I don't know. I guess I was just too scared. It…wasn't easy before, Darry. It was normal for me to have power, so I used it. But I'm only human now, so when I saw it again…I panicked."

Darry sighed. "Right, well I don't even know what were going to do about the window. Mom's going to freak out tomorrow when she finds out."

Charley looked at the window, shattered.

"How did that happen?" he asked.

"What?"

"The window. When I left, it was fine. It was just me, you, and the curse."

"I don't know. But nothing ever really seems to make sense when the curse is around, does it?"

Charley's attention had turned to the ceiling. There was a hole there, a particularly large one that would be hard to miss if a person only looked up. He stood up and looked out the window.

There was a hooded figure out there. A man. He couldn't see well, but Charley felt the man was looking right at him, like he knew about everything.

"I guess you're right," Charley sighed.

He continued on to his drawer, taking a new set of clothes.

"Where are you going?" Darry asked.

"I've got to shower, don't I?"

Darry smirked. Charley left it at that.

After his shower, the night returned to its normal affairs. But the man outside kept watch, a rifle upon his back.

* * *

Zap paced just outside the borderlands of the mountain. He hid by the brush and scratched away in anger at the trees. He cursed himself for being the way he was, driving away his own family.

_What have I done?_ Was the obvious thought. _How did I let this happen?_

He was growing ever so angry, so much so that he wanted to cause the most ruckus in the field, set a spark to whatever came his way and be a problem to everything. But he held himself back, because he knew he was not a normal Pokémon.

_We're not from here…if I let the wrong human know I exist, it could be dangerous for my family._

He held his anger in. He could only beat up a tree with the swat of a paw.

Zap was not going to fall asleep either. Though he hadn't slept much, he knew that sleeping out in the open was the worst decision he could possibly make. It was why he chose to reside on the mountain top, to an area that could not easily be accessed by humans.

But the longer he waited and kept watch, the more tired he got. He wasn't going to win a battle against sleep.

He was angry again. He hit another tree, and to give himself some more to do, he climbed. He jumped from branch to branch until he was at the top, and stayed up there.

_Maybe if I rest here, no one will see me tonight…_

He yawned. He was getting very tired. He couldn't tell time, but he understood from the position of the moon at what stage the night was in.

_I've spent a good deal of the night bickering away…it will be dawn soon._

He watched the moonlight and waited. Before long, far more time had passed, and his night had so far been spent watching the moon.

A twig snap shook his reverie. He looked and sniffed around, careful of his surroundings. He smelt a human near.

Below him, he saw a trainer. He was an older man. Not a fragile old looking human, but far older than normal trainers he'd see on the routes. His path was east, towards the west face of the mountainside.

Zap kept a close eye on the human. He followed along on the branches, careful not to make a sound as he jumped to the next tree, following and observing the man.

_Do not climb the mountain…I will readily fry you._

The next tree was not close enough to another branch to jump. Zap had to get off. Slowly, he slid his way down, and on the bottom branch, kicked off against the bark and landed silently behind the brush.

The man heard. He turned around quickly, his eyes scanning the area. He had his hands readily over his Pokéball.

When he saw nothing, he continued on his way. Zap sighed in relief.

He followed again, being sure to stay out of sight. The man continued towards the mountain.

_He has to be lost_, thought Zap. _He's not looking for anything…he has to be lost._

Zap hoped with all his heart that the man was not a Pokémon collector. If he was, it would mean that he wouldn't be gone until he found a Pokémon unnatural to the wildlife. It would mean Zap and his family were in danger.

_Leave now. Leave._

Eventually, the man reached the mountainside.

The man surveyed the rocks and the eventual climb he would have to pursue.

From Zap's spot, he began to notice some anxiety in the man. He didn't look lost, but he seemed…worried. Scared. Uncertain. All signs that lead to lost, but his stride up to that point had been determined.

_Maybe he is lost. Maybe now he has just realized he has been off course._

The man took hold of his Pokéball and enlarged it. He still looked scared, and his hesitation to release the Pokémon inside showed.

_What are you doing you human?_

He released the Pokémon.

What formed was not a native Pokémon for Hoenn. It was a Ninetales, of all things.

The sudden arrival of the Pokémon had Zap worried again.

_A collector perhaps?_

He would hold judgment until he saw what happened.

"W—we're here," said the trainer, rather nervously too. "You got your wish. Is everything—alright?"

The Ninetales smiled, with a side of evil mixed in. "It's better than I could ever hope for."

The trainer flinched. "You're not done with me, are you?"

The Ninetales laughed.

All the while Zap watched. It all seemed strange to him. He heard what they were saying, but their words confused him, more so that it appeared the trainer _understood_ what the Ninetales was saying.

"If you're just going to sit there and laugh at me—I deserve to know what you plan on _doing_ with me!" the trainer exclaimed.

The Ninetales stopped herself. She giggled, as if the current predicament meant nothing.

"Do you know how _long_ I've been in this body?"

The man said nothing.

"A very, very long time, you incompetent fool. Do you really think that I _needed_ you as guidance, to get out _here_, in the middle of nowhere?"

Zap scooted closer. To him, this was a bizarre sight indeed.

"Okay—so if you didn't need me, why did you make me come?"

"You said two things there, and one of them is wrong. Yes, I made you come. I made you come, because without you, I couldn't—"

_*Snap*_

Zap had gotten one step too close. He cracked a twig.

_Curses!_ He thought.

The ground he stood on was getting hot. Immediately, Zap jumped out of the way as an oncoming flame attack breezed right over the brush. Now he was out in the open, where the both of them could see.

"hehe," Zap laughed nervously. "Well…what's going on here?"

"This is none of your business, Jolteon," said the Ninetales. There was a lot of spite behind her comment. "Leave, if you know what is good for you." Behind her, the trainer wasted no time in running for an escape. "Not so fast!"

Something happened. Zap had never seen this happen before, and he expected it a lot less from a fire-type.

Her eyes were filled with darkness. It was not the usual darkness that came with her biology, but a piercing darkness. It almost looked like she was shrouded in a cloud of dark light, all originating from her pupils.

The trainer cried out in pain. He was being dragged back towards the Ninetales. All the while, he kicked and attempted to grab hold to whatever he could, a useless attempt. At a close enough range, his body was lifted, and he was propelled against the jagged wall.

Zap flinched. There wasn't a reason to hate this man. Everything was off.

The trainer was being choked. He couldn't breathe. The Ninetales eased up on her psychic grip on him, and the man fell to the floor.

"Did you think I would honestly let you go?" the Ninetales said.

The man crawled away, still trying to catch his breath. Every pull he made on the surface, the Ninetales followed, laughing.

"You cannot get rid of me. I am here to stay, and _you are my pawn_."

She started biting the man's leg. The man screamed in pain, able to do little else.

A sudden realization fell behind Zap, seeing the pain in the trainer's eyes, the scared look. The trainer had a deep rooted fear against this Pokémon, and it wasn't a wonder why. Zap remembered his mate, and the so many times she had tried to make him stop prowling the lands. She wanted him to stop because…because she said trainer's were not terrible people. He could remember her trying to explain to Catherine that finding a good trainer would give her the best experience of her life.

All these memories and his spite for humans collided. But as the seconds ticked on by, there were two things he was sure of. The first, he didn't like humans. The second, no one deserved this torture.

Zap attacked the Ninetales on behalf of the trainer.

He jumped on her, a head on tackle, and began biting behind her ear. She pulled back in rage, craned her neck around and started biting him as well.

The two were in a lock, rolling with each other and biting back and forth. Finally she held him well, her paw forcing Zap's head on the earthly soil.

The two were in bad condition, Zap far worse off. His fur was ruffled, and now matted with his own blood. Her hold on him was harsh. If he couldn't pull out, he would be finished.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to stop me?"

Zap struggled against her. "That's exactly what I'm _trying to do_!"

He used up as much energy as he could. The power diminished him, made him feel weak. He could do a few strikes here and there with no resistance, as many Pokémon could. However, a full on strike was harsh on his body.

He was surrounded by an electrical current, and from his sphere that surrounded his and the Ninetales' body, he unleashed a powerful thunder that could be heard up to a mile away.

The Ninetales was hurt. She fell to his side, and then struggled to get up. There was anger across her muzzle. Zap tried to stand as well, but was far dizzier. His vision was doubled; he lost his sense of gravity. Yet, when he saw the Ninetales, he prepared himself to continue the fight.

"So you want a power struggle, do you?" she said. With each word, flames seethed through her breath. "You shouldn't have stuck your nose into my business!"

She inhaled. Zap could see from deep within her throat a fire burning. Upon her release, a wall of flame skidded across the ground. The fire surrounded Zap. He was the center of the fire tornado, and was beginning to burn up.

He coughed. Static spit burst into flames at the fire's touch. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't see.

The Ninetales burst through the flames and mauled Zap, bringing him down. She still had fire burning inside her, and was set to unleash the full blast on him.

Zap too had a spark in him. He unleashed his thunder as she unleashed her flames. The elements clashed, combined, and became weapons against both of them, severely injuring the two.

The fire spin dissipated, and the two continued to fight without the use of the elements.

Finally, Zap managed to break free. He stood a good distance, only able to produce a menacing snarl. He had no more resources to fight. If they continued, he would be defeated.

The Ninetales had more strength, but the power she used was not fire. It was a dark element. The same one she had used on the trainer to pull him back.

She struck Zap, and he couldn't move. The hit was crushing him. As she walked towards him, he was pushed back, far back until he was against a tree.

"Wh—what are you?" Zap coughed.

"You wouldn't understand," the Ninetales grinned. "As you see, I'm no ordinary Ninetales."

Her fur coloration was changing, becoming darker. Her eyes rolled back and were turning red.

_She's evil_, Zap thought. _She's pure evil. She'll hurt anyone who gets in her way…she'll hurt my family!_

Zap took in a breath. He decided he would not let his family down, and from deep within himself, gave his all to shock the Ninetales. It was a hit, but he kept the current going. He didn't know how long she could take electricity, but he wasn't going to stop his current to find out.

Her coloration returned. Her eyes were normal again. Now it was his wrath and her pain.

Then he ran out of power, and could no longer shock.

Zap fell on his weak legs, unable to move. The Ninetales fell to her side, defeated and in paralysis.

_Have I won?_

What…is wrong with you?" Zap asked, the only words he could muster up.

There was a new aura surrounding the Ninetales. She was far lighter than previously, almost an angelic white. The aura got larger. It warmed Zap.

From the Ninetales muzzle, darkness entailed. A smoky substance came from her body, no pattern, but floating skyward.

A final stream of darkness escaped the Ninetales, this one far lighter than the rest. It began taking shape, slowly shaping to a human image. There was an expression on her face, the human. It showed sorrow, with a bit of happiness as well. A soft moan could be heard carried out by the wind.

"_Thank you…_"

The spirit vanished.

Zap couldn't make anything of the situation. He was left a gasp.

The Ninetales still breathed. With as much strength as he could, Zap stood back up and walked crookedly towards the Pokémon. The Ninetales looked up at Zap, a shiver coursing through her body. She was hurt. She bled from her legs, and the blood that flowed from her mouth now was not stopping.

But she thanked him.

"Thank you…you…saved…mmm…"

She did not get to finish. Her heart stopped, and she no longer breathed.

_I killed her…_

Zap looked for the trainer. He was nowhere in sight. The sun began to rise, but no light shined on the two. The mountain blocked the light. He had just survived one night living in the wild, and he had almost gotten killed.

He needed to return home. He needed to rest.

Up above him, he heard an explosion. Zap winced. Looking up, his mouth hung open. There was a large explosion near the cave entrance where he lived.

_Catherine! Rachel!_

The fire only got larger. The ground shook and a few flying types fled from their perch.

He could do nothing for the Ninetales. He needed to get home.

Zap had a running start, but fell forward. There was too much pain. He limped his back leg, and continued on.

_This side of the mountain is too steep_, he thought. _I must climb at a safer incline…please, let no harm to have fallen on them!_

He limped briskly. Another explosion came from above, followed by an array of water.

It was a battle.


	3. Survive

After a full year, chapter 3 has gotten its rewrite. I know I am asking a lot for patience, especially at the rate that these fixes are going. If you choose not to continue reading, it would be justifiable. I will continue to work on these on my own pace.

Please note this chapter deviates completely from the original version, and because of that, dislodges itself from the rest of the story. If you do not see my approval stamp in the chapters that follow this, then do not read, as the storylines are not connected as they should be, in this new version of the story.

Thank you,

BfoS (6/26/2012)

**Chapter 3: Survive**

It was early morning. The sun had not even begun to hit the horizon, yet Charley had cleaned himself up well in the darkness. He was changed; his attire spoke the language of a traditional trainer. His clothes were new and unused, the ones he never got to wear when he started his journey the first time around. Stepping off the porch landing and onto the morning dew and fresh air, he felt accomplished. He carried a pack, slung over one shoulder, and on his belt hung only one pokéball, the one which contained the Pikachu he was gifted only hours before.

He walked through the blades of grass, letting them scratch against his sneakers. The grass needed trimming. His mother would have probably asked him to cut it this morning had he not decided to leave at such an early hour. But he did it because he felt it was necessary to leave. This journey needed to be completed alone.

It felt odd, leaving like this. For the first time in such a long time, he felt sincerely helpless. He walked towards the main city, and in the hustle and bustle of the morning crowd, he found himself entering the Pokémart, and looking upon its shelves.

He gazed upon the items, some that he would probably need heavily. But when he thought about the money he owned, he knew he could afford almost nothing. He had collected only a few items from home on his journey, and looking back into the pack, sitting on a bench in the store, he looked over his items.

A heal, a continental map and his Pokédex. He worried again, the same feeling of dread he'd been carrying around last night washing over him.

_I shouldn't worry about being prepared for a journey_, he thought to himself. _I'm going to die far sooner than I can make a name for myself. This is...unnecessary._

Dejected, he left the Pokémart, having bought nothing. The further time he spent shuffling about the city, the more he began to despair for his fate.

At the end of the city limits, he found himself moving eastward. He wanted to move as far away from his family as he could, and he knew no other further place than the other side of the country.

_It'll be a long walk_, he knew.

But at the edge of the city and beginning of Route 116, he could only hold his breath.

Bringing his pokéball to his own hand, he released the creature inside. The Pikachu shook itself awake, yawning and stretching in the morning cool blast. It looked up at him, with a cute smile that only those of its species could give. Charley knelt down and leaned in close to his new pal.

"How are you doing, Pikachu," he said to the creature.

"Pika!" the Pokémon yawned.

Charley cocked his head to the side. He was expecting to understand. He was expecting so much more.

"Looks like its not just like before," he sighed. Looking at the Pokémon, he said, "do you like the name? Pikachu? How about that."

The creature nodded fervently, smiling cheekily. It was hard not to come to a liking in this creature.

"It's cute. Really, I like it," he smiled. "But you gotta have a unique name. Something that speaks to you. I don't wanna call you Pikachu forever, so how about we make a deal? You come up with a name for yourself, and that's what I'll call you from now on." He let his fist out, close to the Pikachu, hoping to get a reaction. He was aware that the creature was capable of self thought; his travels had taught him so much. But no matter what, this condition of speaking to the Pokémon like an equal would go unnoticed if he didn't learn to understand their tongue as he did so fluently before. Yet he felt that the time would come.

_Soon_, he thought to himself.

Nonetheless, the Pokémon pounded his fist with its own, and in their touch, he felt a wavering presence return to his body, one that felt so very familiar. The Pikachu, male as he could hear, responded with his fist to fist gesture. "Deal," he said, a smile on his mouse-like face.

_Too soon_, Charley continued.

* * *

Worry rushed through Zap's veins. He couldn't fathom what could be happening on the top of the mountain, but worried what would happen to the ones he loved. He had left the Ninetales far behind, her body but a memory quickly fading. None of what happened down there made sense, but in the present tense, it did not concern him in the least.

One edge of the slope quickly became slippery. Water trailed down, and caused him to slip up, lodging a hind paw between a crevice. He cursed in the only way a Jolteon could, then struggled against the rock base. His heart rate quickened, and water continued to fall beside him.

"Rachel!" He shouted. He could see his den not far from his position, the mouth of the entrance so near, yet so far away. "You have to leave!"

He hoped she and Cathrine already had, but in the circumstances, he needed to be sure. He pulled again, more water sliding down the side of the mountain as another blast of fire erupted from the other side.

_What the blazing Moltres is going on here?_, he questioned.

There was a quake on the side of the mountain. Rocks slid downward, passing him by closely. Zap braced himself for impact, but none would hit.

He winced. Opening his eyes, in the distant, his heart skipped a beat. Slow moving molten lava was moving off the side of the mountain.

"I—impossible..." Zap whispered to himself. He struggled against the crevice, but he couldn't get his paw free. He pulled and pulled, and could already feel pain course through his body from the struggle. "This is impossible!"

Mt. Chimney was a soot spewing volcano. It had never spread anything other than soot. His mind was racing, his heart was pounding, but at the pit of it all, he knew that there was nothing he could do. The lava would overcome him, and he would be destroyed, much like the Ninetales.

_How did this happen? How_ could _this happen?_

The lava had neared, and Zap was prepared for the end. But towards the last seconds of life, a flash of flames burst in front of him, singeing the wet fur he had gathered from the brief cascading water. It was his mate.

"Where is Cathrine!" Were his first words.

"Safe; she made it to the base of the mountain," Rachel responded. Flames whisped all over the tip of her body, and she pawed away at the rocks holding him in place. "This isn't good Zap! What happened?"

"The place is falling apart! I don't know how it happened, I thought you would!"

"A rude awakening, indeed, but we didn't stick around to find the cause. I can't get you free!" She pawed away some more.

The flames were uncomfortable, and the lava was only getting closer. More water burst over the other side of the mountain, and briefly brushed over the intense lava and brushed through his paw, and the intense heat scarred the Jolteon into full alert.

"Arrgh!" he cried out.

"I'll get you free, Zap, just hang on!"

Flames burst through her nostrils, and with all the strength she could muster, she rushed back, and came rushing towards Zap, tackling him with all her might. He was set free with that attack, but he couldn't help but let a yip of pain as he felt his hind paw twist in the most unnatural way. Together, they fell down the slope and toppled towards trees. The fire up top increased, but they were held by the branches down below.

He had a throbbing headache. He could barely see, bleary eyes clouding his vision.

"You are good, Zap! We made it!"

But her voice was growing distant. He was weakening. He needed to heal. These wounds could not be cured out here in the wild. He was going to die. His mate looked him over, and saw these aches and pains through his frame. He couldn't move.

"I'm sorry Zap..." she whispered, so very distant.

_...I'm...fine..._

"Your wounds...I cannot fix them..."

_...I feel good...I think I'll nap for now..._

"I...I'm so sorry..." He could hear her tears, but he wasn't sure why she was crying.

_...It is alright...you are safe..._

"I can save you, but you have to trust me."

Sirens were heard in the distant. It was the humans, coming to intervene, as they always do.

_I bet they started this..._

He could feel himself being pulled, and he could feel the grass beneath him now as he was dragged slowly. And in the further distance, he could hear human voices. At about this time, he couldn't think for himself. His life was just about dispersing, much like the Ninetales had.

_If only I was stronger...if only I had beaten her sooner..._

And he thought for a little longer.

_If only I hadn't intervened...if only I stayed with my family..._

He had stopped being dragged. The soft grass below him was heavenly. He took his nap, unaware of his surroundings. The bursting flames were at a far distance, but they burned into his skull. His adrenaline had made him strong, but once he was free, he had not an ounce of strength to keep on.

He slept quietly this morning, the first unguarded sleep he had ever enjoyed in months.


	4. Alex and the Gang

Chapter 4 fixed!

**Chapter 4: Alex and the Gang**

Zap continued walking staying in the trees and out of sight as the Pokémon Trainers passed by not noticing him. He zigzagged his way across the area with Rachel on his back. Slowly, Rachel seemed to be dieing. Zap kept his own pace running and walking at the same time through the trees.

"Mudkip, Water Gun!" splash! Water hit the side of Zap causing him to fall to the floor with his wife. "Rachel, try and run..." Rachel listened a little at what Zap had said; she had most of her energy drained away. _Why am I so weak,_ Rachel thought to herself. Trying to get a little faster, she started running to the side with pain attacking her all along. "Alright, now throw a Mudslap now!" yelled the trainer to the small Mudkip that was ready and fighting Zap.

Zap was tackled again. _Uh, I can't fight_, thought Zap. The trainer took out an empty Pokéball readying it for capturing Zap. "Mudkip, throw another Water Gun!" The Mud Fish like creature opened its mouth; Zap could see water rushing inside the mouth. Then in an instant, he shot weakening Zap low enough not to be able to attack. Zap was stuck now; he couldn't move a single muscle in his body. "Go Pokéball!" shouted the trainer tossing the ball towards Zap. Zap was too weak, he tried to get up and dodge away, but it was too late. The Pokéball hit Zap in the head causing Zap to yelp in pain.

The Pokéball opened up and started sucking Zap in. He couldn't do anything about it, he saw himself flash bright red and become transparent. He felt his body being pulled away, and then he became a red lightning bolt that started to strike inside the ball. He was flying and couldn't even see himself; the lightning red creature that he was fully went inside the ball. The Pokéball closed behind him and sealed shut. Normally, he would've tried to get out, but he was too weak. Darkness fell over him, and then through a small light, a machine went right for him.

Zap looked at it trying to get away, but he still didn't have the energy. It hooked on him and started to pierce in his flesh. "Ah, damn it!" Zap screamed helplessly as the machine continued to press against his body. Zap could feel something being cut onto him, like getting a tattoo. It let go and disappeared into the darkness. Zap turned his head and looked to see what it had done to him. On the side of his leg was something slightly visible. Zap read it: Tr. # 84725. He was now someone else's property, he rested on the floor of the Pokéball and started to wonder two things only. 1. _Is Rachel alright? _2._ Will Cathy be alright?

* * *

_

Zap lost track of how long he was in the Pokéball, he didn't even care about himself anymore. He was still horribly wounded and once in awhile he would hear a trainer, probably his trainer, yelling commands at other Pokémon. The last command he heard was about five minutes ago, it just got quiet after that. Suddenly, the Pokéball was lit with light from all corners. Red beams went around everywhere then started to circle Zap. He got up and growled at the light as it passed him. Red light flew from the top of the sphere around in a circle to the other end, and then slowly rotated in circles coming around Zap. Slowly, Zap felt his body being healed.

All cuts on him were disappearing from view, he felt himself getting stronger. After a short minute, he felt like a new day. He got stronger. The lights disappeared and the Pokéball got dark again. Zap looked around waiting for something to happen, but nothing came.

Five more minutes later, the Pokéball's mechanical devices started to work. They went around Zap and started shooting lasers at him. Again, he felt himself transforming into lightning. First came becoming red all over, then he changed form and was sent flying around the Pokéball. It gave way opening up and pushed Zap out of the Pokéball where he started to take shape again except larger. He finally finished exiting it with his fur striking out which made it look all wild.

Zap looked around him and saw a room shaped like a Pokémon Center. The signs clearly showed he was in a Pokémon Center when he saw the signs and other Pokémon healing utilities. He turned and saw other Pokémon next to him: a Mudkip, a Kirlia, a Zubat, and a Sableye. He turned and looked at the trainer that caught him, clenching his teeth together looking with a menacing stare at the trainer. "Wow," started the trainer, "hey, Jolteon, maybe we got off on the wrong foot, um, my name is Alex. I'm your new trainer." Zap growled at what Alex said and was ready to attack, but the Sableye stopped him.

"Hey, calm down," said the Sableye, pushing Zap back. The trainer got a little scared, "Thanks Ghost." The Sableye nodded and stopped pushing Zap back. The Trainer Alex hesitated for a bit. The Sableye named Ghost looked at Zap. "Do you promise not to attack Alex?" Zap turned to Ghost, "why should he attack me?" he spat with bitterness. Ghost punched Zap in the side. "Hey, don't do that Ghost," reacted the trainer, "we're trying to make friends here, be nice and let him release his anger, even if it's on me." Slowly, the Ghost type moved away from Zap looking at him with a face that showed 'you better not do anything stupid or else'.

Zap kept looking at the trainer and ignored the pain from the punch he was given. "Where's Rachel," Zap asked. The trainer looked at Zap with a confused face then started to talk. "I'm sorry I was rough with you back there Jolteon, but I'm here to be your friend. No one is going to harm you anymore. Can we get along now?"

"Not until you answer my first question." said Zap. The Trainer looked down at his feet. "Guess that's a no." He turned towards Zap, "look, I want to be a friend, not an enemy. Please, don't make it difficult."

Zap turned his head to the other Pokémon. "Are you the only Pokémon he has?" Zubat nodded and the others said in Pokémon yes. Zap exchanged glances from Alex, then the Pokémon. "What happened to Rachel?" he asked the Mudkip that was leaning against the wall. "She ran." he replied. "Anything else?" asked Zap. "Well," started the Mudkip, "she started running out of the way when you told her to, then she disappeared from view going through the trees. I have to admit though; she's pretty strong to run through that injury."

Zap looked away and closed his eyes thinking about her. He turned to the Mudkip again. "Did you try to catch her, by anyway possible, did you hurt her?" The Mudkip walked towards Zap. "You need to lighten up; she's perfectly safe for now. Well, I didn't see anyone else try to catch her. After we caught you, we did a couple of more battles with other trainers. You see, Alex is a trainer that doesn't care if he catches something rare or not, he cares if he makes friends with his Pokémon instead. He didn't see the need in a Flareon because you don't really need a fire type to beat the Elite Four, and that's Alex's goal. To defeat the Elite Four with his friends."

Zap sighed defeated as if he just lost everything, he couldn't be there to protect his wife or daughter. He went over to Alex who had been trying to understand the Pokéconversation the whole time while sitting on a chair. Zap laid down defeated next to Alex and looked at him. "I'm ready." he said. Alex didn't know what they had said, but he did know that his new Jolteon had finally decided to trust him.


	5. Team Magma Attacks

Yet again, another fixed chapter!

**Chapter 5: Team Magma Attacks**

Zap got to know his new team quick. Kirlia was a female Pokémon called Psy, she was pretty much the one that was the psychic member, what else is there to say about her? Sableye was called Ghost, he's the one that's going to be the great advantage for Alex when he ever was able to fight the Elite Four, and he was the Dark and Ghost type of the team. Zubat's name was actually Fang; he was the one to take advantage with flying rather than poisoning. And last but not least, the one that helped catch Zap, Mudkip. His real name was... Mudkip. Alex came from Littleroot Town and was able to get a Mudkip from Professor Birch, the only reason why he couldn't name him was because Prof. Birch had already named him Mudkip, so he stuck being called that because he's used to it. And now the newest member, Zap the Jolteon, had joined in defeat of not being there for his family.

Alex was going to put Zap back in his pokéball, but before that he asked Alex's other Pokémon to tell him if he could just walk around and get to see the area, it was tough for him now that he lost his entire family, the last thing he wanted to do was sit in a Pokéball thinking about it. Zap wanted to take a look around to try and forget about what happened. That's why he was outside of the Pokémon Center in Mauville City with Alex.

Alex sat on a Bench wearing the normal trainer clothes of Hoenn. Next to his feet were Zap and Kirlia just chatting with each other about things in the Pokémon world. "I take it Alex takes good care of his Pokémon?" asked Zap.

"Yeah," said Psy, "he doesn't give up on any of us, at first when we met him, we were kind of like you were, just asked a lot of questions and other random stuff. Well, I know because I was his second Pokémon."

Zap sighed. "It seems like everyone thinks trainers will take your life away, maybe some horrifying ones will, but the majority of trainers out there aren't that mean," said Zap looking at Psy then the sky.

"So, what do you see up there?" asked Psy.

"Huh?" replied Zap. Psy pointed to the sky, "You keep looking up there, ever since you were caught. I'm just wondering, what do you see?"

Zap looked at the sky again, "I don't know, it seems like my problems will be solved by just looking up." Psy kept her eyes on the sky, "I see… your right. It moves smoothly enough to be just a dream."

Alex looked straight ahead and saw some strange people in red outfits. "Oh no," he whispered to himself, "Spark, is it okay if I call you that Jolteon?" Zap nodded his head. "Okay, well we got to go, now." he said looking at the grunts getting into some kind of position. "You too Psy, Spark and Psy, return." He took out both Pokéballs and returned his Pokémon to their balls. He got up and started walking away.

* * *

Charley was able to pick up the ice pack from the ground. He let go of his concentration and let the ice pack fall to the ground. "Well, now I know I can use my powers." he said to no one in particular. He waited right there just sitting, sometimes playing with the leaves making them twirl around himself. He knew he could control most things using a psychic ability given with the curse that was hunting him down. He only had to wait a couple of more hours until a big blue Swellow landed near-by.

"Feather, is that you?" Charley asked.

"Yes, Darry asked to come back for you. Come-on, you don't want to miss the _S.S. Tidal_." said the Swellow. Charley shrugged and walked onto the back of Feather, "alright, by the way, where is Darry?"

The Swellow turned his head, "he's waiting by the docking area, where the ship should pull up later today." Charley rolled his eyes, "he's never late for anything, isn't he? Oh well, let's go!"

Feather turned around and got a running start. Slowly he pulled up and off the ground near Rusturf Tunnel and went soaring in the air. Charley forgot how that felt for awhile, he remembered the other times he had tried the flying, always failing unsuccessfully, but he remembered the first time he got on a Pokémon's back and flew with it for miles to the next city, how much he loved the feeling.

They flew past the other end of the tunnel and continued on. Charley looked down and saw the city of Mauville, except something was wrong. There was an over load of Magma Grunts all around the city.

Then before he knew it, Feather was hit by something and they pummeled down to the city.

* * *

Alex walked with all of his Pokémon hidden well under his Pokébelt. He began to walk faster and went south of Mauville to try and escape through there, but was stopped by a grunt. "Whoa, hold on there kid." said the Magma member, "ya got any Pokémon with ya?"

Alex shook his head. "I'm going to Slateport to visit my grandma, she does live there, check my tra- err- ID. Tag." The Magma Grunt looked at him with a strange disgusted face then took out his hand. "Well then, let me see it."

Alex slowly reached into his pockets trying not to show any sign that he was a trainer, taking out a piece of the Trainer Card keeping his Pokéballs hidden. He took out the last part of the Trainer Card he used which just showed things about him, something everyone carries. The Grunt looked at him angered and then got out of his way. "Alright, you can pass," he said, "a word of advice though; I would suggest you stay with your grandmother for the next couple of weeks. It'll get dangerous here."

Just then a grunt pointed to the sky.

"Look, a Swellow!" he yelled to the others, "Hurry, take it down!" Alex expected to see Magma Grunts take out Pokémon to get ready for a battle. They took out Pokémon alright, but they also took out guns.

"Hey," yelled Alex, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Stay out of this kid or else," said a grunt. Then from the sound of a bullet, everyone started shooting at the Swellow. _Hit_! A direct hit came across by one of the grunts and the Swellow flew down, dragging a trainer with it.


	6. Teleportation

Another successfully fixed chapter! Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Teleportation**

Charley felt the wind go hard against the now falling Swellow, every time he looked around he saw hard as steel bullets pass by him. _Come-on_, thought Charley as he went in a state of concentration. His nerves clicked and the power jolted all over his body. He felt the Swellow be lifted, but not by itself, by Charley. He kept his concentration, his eyes completely white now. Then with an even stronger force, he was pulled down by some other power.

The strength was too powerful; Charley put more concentration in his mind which pushed him up again, but then back down. Charley couldn't take it anymore, and gave-up. He looked down and saw he wasn't that far away from Mauville. More force pushed him down. _This is it_, thought Charley. He hit the ground floor with Swellow, and his mind slowly started to drift away.

* * *

Gunshots went off. The trainer on the Swellow seemed to hold on tight. Reacting immediately, Alex got three Pokéballs out of his Pokébelt and released them. Mudkip came out ready for a battle and saw the many Magma Grunts around him. Another Pokémon, a Kirlia, came out and looked around seeing all the weapons showing a bit of fright. Then lastly, Zap was released. He got ready looking around and realized he was with the same men he saw while rescuing Rachel, and while trying to rescue his other children.

* * *

"Score! Another Eevee _and _a Jolteon!" shouted a human voice. Zap turned and looked at the noise of the trainer. Slowly, he whispered to Mark, his small Eevee that looked in confusion at the human. "Mark, I need you to listen to me," he said, "stay with me. Unless I tell you to, run, but for now stay with me at all times." The little Eevee nodded his head still looking at the human. "Dad," started Mark, "where's Mom and the others?" Zap growled at the trainer as he released a Numel. "I don't know Mark, just stay with me." 

"Numel," shouted the trainer, "use Take Down!" The Numel ran towards Zap. He dodged out of the way watching the Numel crash into the wall of the cave. "Numel, do the routine!" shouted the trainer a little mad that his Numel missed a good hit. "Mark, run and stay in the back, whatever you do, don't go near the trainer or the exit!" with that said, Zap ran at Numel tackling it down.

Through the jumble, Mark ran passed both of them and into a dark corner of the cave. Zap shot a Thundershock at Numel which it easily dodged and went to tackle Zap. The trainer ran out of the cave and started screaming, raising a hood on his back with red and the indentions of a mountain on it.

"Alright, who are you and where is the rest of my family," Zap asked the Numel.

"So you would like to know," replied the Numel shooting an ember attack at Zap. It hit him not that very affectively, but pushed him back enough to knock him on the floor. Zap got up and attack with a Thunderwave that paralyzed Numel. Zap got on top of the Numel and pushed his front paw hard on the Numel's stomach.

"Where is your trainer taking my family!" he screamed. Numel turned and spat blood on Zap's face. Zap sent the hardest Thunderbolt he had and electrocuted Numel.

"That's enough!" said a voice from the door, carrying a gun-like net weapon. He aimed it at Zap and shot, darkness filled Zap as he was caught, and only said one thing through the wrapped around black bag-like net, unable to see anything, "Mark, run!"

* * *

"He, he has a Pokémon!" shouted a Magma Grunt, pointing to the three Pokémon standing in front of him. 

"Stop shooting the trainer!" Alex yelled, and then turned his attention to Kirlia, "Psy, see if you can stop them from falling!" The Kirlia nodded and concentrated all her energy on the trainer and the Pokémon.

_Wait_, she thought. She tried again and failed. _Why won't my attacks work?_

"You two lazy asses stop the trainer!" yelled a Magma Leader at two other Grunts. "Yes sir!" they said in unison and took out more Pokémon to face Alex. "Mightyena and Numel, stop that Kirlia!" yelled one grunt.

Alex turned to face Zap. "Spark, protect Psy! Don't let her lose concentration!"

The other grunt came with a Torkoal and a Slugma. "Slugma, use Flamethrower, Torkoal, use Body Slam!"

Alex looked at Mudkip, "Mudkip, take them down with Water Gun!" Mudkip moved away from the Flamethrower and shot a Water Gun at the tackling Torkoal. The Torkoal blasted with flames as the water hit him, steam rose from all around its body. Mudkip turned to face Slugma. "Slugma, use Rock Throw!"

The Slugma crawled in circles fast making the dirt steam up under it, and then the Slugma rolled molding the dirt into rocks and tossed the rocks at Mudkip. It hit directly at Mudkip and he fell back with the scratches from the rocks. "Mudkip, Mud-Slap it!"

Mudkip Water Gunned the ground in front of him and rolled through it till he was covered in mud. He then jumped in the air and aimed his fin-like hand on Slugma, then pushed it into Slugma's soft lava like body.

It burned Mudkip's hand as it went through the flaming embers of the Slugma's body; Mudkip took out his hand shaking it as it burned him. The Slugma couldn't take all the mud churning inside it and hardening; it fainted right on the spot. Mudkip turned to find the Torkoal slam into him blowing him a foot away from impact. Mudkip started to glow.

Mudkip glowed bright and started to grow a bit larger. His body stretched longer, he was able to stand on two feet now. His top fin became more mohawkish, and his star-like orange cheeks became only one spike on each. His belly became orange, or at least a small round portion of it. Then he was done. Mudkip evolved into Marshtomp.

"Mudk- err- Marshtomp, alright," yelled Alex enthusiastically, "you evolved!" Alex suddenly remembered the Torkoal. "Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!" at that sudden yell, the falling Swellow hit the ground making the trainer on top of it bounce from the back on impact and onto the floor.

* * *

Alex turned to face Zap. "Spark, protect Psy! Don't let her lose concentration!" Zap reacted and went to Psy's aid. 

Psy looked at him, "Zap, something's blocking me from using my Psychic!" she yelled frantically.

"Keep trying," Zap said as he was tackled to the ground by Mightyena. Numel started charging a tackle at Psy.

"No," Zap yelled and pushed the Mightyena with his strong legs. He Thundershocked Numel and was tackled again by the Mightyena. It bit into Zap's leg.

"Ah!" Zap yelled and Double Kicked Mightyena. He ran at Numel and Quick Attacked it fast while it was still down and moved in front of Psy. "How's that Psychic coming," he asked.

Psy turned her head and the Swellow was shifted with strength up, and then back down. "Something is trying to block my attacks, I can't do anything!" She quickly turned back her concentration on the Swellow. Zap saw it shift back down.

"Wow, first it wouldn't and now... I can't control it!" The Mightyena ran at Zap pushing him down on the ground next to Psy. The Numel did the same, but at Psy.

"Uh!" she screamed as she fell and the Psychic attack twisted around and pulled force on the Swellow. "Psy, look out!" Zap yelled getting out of Mightyena's grasp and taking Psy out of under the Numel by his teeth, biting Psy's hand dragging her away.

In a few seconds, the Swellow Psy tried to stop fell hard on the ground, making the ground where it landed next to Mightyena and Numel crack, and making the trainer behind it bounce on the feathers and fall to the ground.

Slowly, Charley felt his life coming out of him. The feathers on Feather gave him a bit of a whiplash. He felt himself smack against Feather and bounce, then hit the hard ground. He tried to concentrate on staying awake as he looked around. Team Magma Grunts were all around him. Charley put his arm on the side of Feather, the unmoving Swellow, and tried to pick himself up.

"Spark, Psy, keep the Magma Grunts away from the guy!" yelled a boy's voice.

"Come-on," someone else yelled, "stay with me, Psy." Charley's vision cleared and he saw a Jolteon in front of him. He couldn't speak much; he was still trying to put himself together from the fall.

"Whoa," yelled a Magma Grunt, "what's _that _thing?" Charley looked around and saw grayish smoke start to form around him and the Jolteon, which had a Kirlia next to him. "Hey," said the Jolteon facing the Kirlia, "I've seen this thing before. In fact, I just saw this morning!"

"Psy, Spark, what's happening!" yelled a trainer, "Marshtomp, Water Gun the smoke away!" He then ran towards Charley through the mist foaming around. "Hey," he said, "are you okay?"

Charley looked around and saw water fly with the smoke. _Oh no_, he thought. The Marshtomp the trainer had yelled to come through the smoke as the Magma Grunts started to get the Pokémon to blow away the smoke. Then a face in the smoke formed in front of Charley. The trainer and his Pokémon gasped as they saw it, to Charley, it was normal seeing it, but he still didn't want to see it. "Return your Pokémon," said Charley.

"What?" asked the trainer.

Charley looked at him. "Just do it!" he yelled.

Reluctantly, the trainer returned his Pokémon leaving the trainer, the Swellow, and Charley alone in the smoke as it twisted higher covering all the light from the sun. Charley crawled next to Swellow and put his hand on it.

"Grab my hand!" Charley yelled as the gust got stronger with more winds, throwing dirt all around.

"Huh?" asked the trainer again. Charley pulled the trainer's hand and put him against the Swellow, but just then, the gust-like grey cloud hit Charley directly and started to go down his throat.

* * *

To Alex, it was a frightening sight seeing the other trainer choke with air, seeing the cloud pick him up slightly from the ground. He got up and pulled Charley back against the Swellow, stopping the rest of the gust from going in. The mysterious trainer choked a bit. After coughing for about ten seconds, he pushed Alex against the Swellow and closed his eyes. He was concentrating. 

"What are you doing?" asked Alex, but in the second he finished saying that, the other trainer's eyes glowed white. _What is he_, thought Alex, _he's not human!_

Charley's eyes glowed even whiter, and then the gust disappeared, along with everything else as darkness filled everywhere.


	7. The Ticket

Chapter 7: FIXED!

**Chapter 7: The Ticket**

Flashes came out all around the darkness. The white light flashed around every five seconds within the minute Alex was there with the mysterious trainer. White light then flashed and poured into the room they were in. Whiteness went on for miles. Alex turned and saw the trainer still concentrating, his eyes still completely white. There were no Magma Grunts anywhere in sight. Then through the white surroundings, lines started to form. It was like being in a drawing, the lines formed way in the back like digital computer graphic lines would to make three-dimensional objects. Color started to get added everywhere filling in the lines. Below Alex was a dirt path being filled with lines. Buildings started to fill out every corner of the area, making a city. The dirt below brang lines and started bending them forming a building, a Pokémon Center. Everything fell into order, blue and white light appeared making the clouds and sky. Soon enough, it was finally done. Everything finished with a sign coming up in the northern part of the city that read one thing: Slateport City.

Alex forgot he was floating above the Pokémon Center with the trainer, and soon gravity started to pull. With a scream, the other trainers eyes came back to normal and they fell and landed on the curving side of the Pokémon Center rolling onto some bushes near-by. Alex quickly after falling pulled himself up and took out his Kirlia, aiming it at the trainer. "Who are you!" he yelled, "_What _are you!"

The trainer pulled himself up and looked like he was about to throw his lunch. He coughed against the building they were next to. "Sorry you had to see that," he said, "well, the secret's out now." He turned and faced Alex, "What are you goanna do about it, I saved your life."

"No," yelled Alex in protest, "_I_ was the one doing the saving, what was that thing!"

The trainer coughed again before talking. "My name is Charley, and what you just saw I hope you keep a secret to yourself." Alex looked at Charley with a funny face. "Back to my original question, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!" he screamed. Charley seemed to be looking for an answer in his head. After a few seconds of silence, a Swellow landed right in front of them.

This startled Alex making him fall back on the ground. The Kirlia gasped as she saw she was almost squished again by the same bird.

"What the?" said Alex out loud, "well that took awhile!"

Charley went over to the Swellow and gave Alex a stare. "Precisely why I told you to call your Pokémon back." Charley turned to the Swellow. "Feather, can you hear me?"

The Swellow gave a slow nod, probably not being able to move much. "Feather," Charley started, "in order to help you, I need to know where Darry is."

At the sound of that, another trainer came around the corner. "Right here." he said.

Charley looked at the new trainer there. "Darry, Feather needs some help," he said. Darry got a Pokéball out and called back the Swellow.

"Wait," Alex started, "whose Swellow is that?"

Darry ignored him and continued his cold stare at Charley. "You said you couldn't use your powers." he said, "You lied."

Charley looked around and back at Darry, "well, yeah, but it wasn't working for awhile."

Darry just shook his head. "No," he said, "I think it's just because it hurts you, doesn't it?"

Charley stepped back a bit. "A little," he admitted. Darry put the Pokéball back in his belt.

"Hey," Darry shouted to Alex, "call back your Pokémon and go home."

Alex made another face. "What do you mean, 'go home'?" he asked.

Darry looked at him with a more serious face. "You got a home, don't ya? Go, leave, scram."

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out what the hell just happened!" he shouted at Darry.

"Go home," Darry said raising his voice. Alex got a little mad, but called his Kirlia back and started to walk away. He walked out from behind the Pokémon Center went right in front, heading inside with frustration, anger, and curiosity.

* * *

"Let's go," said Darry. Charley walked towards him. "And I bet you didn't use your Pikachu, right?" asked Darry.

Charley had forgotten all about having it, and took out the ball. "No," he said staring at it.

Darry sighed. "You know," he started, "I gave you that for a reason."

Charley rolled his eyes, and then turned to Darry. "Hey," he started, "remember what you said about the curse's reaction to light?"

Darry turned and looked puzzled. "Yeah, why?" he asked. Charley cleared his throat. "It's sunny today, nothing happened to _It_." he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Darry.

Charley said it again. "I mean, I was attacked, that's how I had more power, but it attacked in pure day-light. That's something that never happened before."

Darry got a worried look on his face. "Well, come-on," he said, "don't want to be late for the _S.S. Tidal_." They started to walk to the near-by Harbor; people were already crowding the street as it was still day-light.

* * *

Zap was sitting silently, trying to rest inside the warmth of the Pokéball. He was drifting off to sleep, when the light of the Pokéball started to function. The same twists and turns were made as the healing redness of the ball went swiftly around him. After a few seconds, the Pokéball stopped like it did before, and he felt himself moving again. The Pokéball opened and the same churns of red went around him and transformed him, and with quick speed he leapt out of the Pokéball and onto the polished tiles of the Pokémon Center. He stretched and started to remember what had just happened, the smoke and everything else rushed through his mind.

"Spark," Alex called, "are you okay?" Zap nodded. Alex gave a sigh as he started to think about something. "Ah, I'll just call home." he said.

Zap was a little confused as to why he was called out for no apparent reason, but put it behind his mind and followed Alex. All the computer phones were being used, probably because they cost no money what-so-ever. Alex got to the small pay-phone on the side and decided to use that, getting a Pokécoin out of his pocket and inserting it.

Zap saw him push in some numbers. He walked under the pay-phone and rested there like a tired Growlithe would. "Hi Sal," he said into the phone, "listen, I'm goanna need another bike, I can't explain it now, can you pass the phone to Mom or Dad?" after a few moments, he started to talk again. "Hey Mom, I'm goanna need a bike. Yeah, a bike. Well, I did use that one but left it in the entrance to the Mauville Safe Bike when I finally reached Mauville. No, I wasn't planning on going back to Slateport, it just happened. Yeah, I can't explain that, the point is I need a bike now. Uncle Jack? But he's at the Battle Frontier, you know that. Really? Okay, but how am I going to get there, I don't have a ticket for the _S.S. Tidal_. Oh, thanks Mom. I love you too, bye." he hung up and looked down at Zap.

"Well," he said looking into Zap's eyes, "looks like were going to the Battle Frontier." He said grinning.


	8. SS Tidal

**Chapter 8: S.S. Tidal**

Alex waited, standing on the edge of the counter. Zap was at his knees as usual while the nurse was busy with other patients and costumers. It took her awhile, but soon enough Nurse Joy walked up to Alex and Zap. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes," started Alex, "I was given a ticket for the _S.S. Tidal_, but I need to retract it first. Can you run it through the fax or something to get it?"

Nurse Joy started typing some numbers on the computer. "Can I have your trainer ID.?"

"84725," replied Alex positively. Nurse Joy started to type again. It took awhile for her to get it done, but she finished getting it out and handed Alex the _S.S. Tidal_ ticket. "Here you go and have fun at the Battle Frontier," said Nurse Joy, and then started to help someone else.

"Come-on Spark," Alex called motioning for Zap to follow, "let's go get us a bike, the relaxing way." Alex started grinning at the thought of being on one of the best ships in Hoenn, just taking it easy to get to someplace he was going just for a bike. Zap nodded and followed Alex out of the Pokémon Center.

Alex stretched outside and looked around the corner at the Harbor getting filled with people. Alex stood for awhile just checking at how it was now and how it was going to be then, until he was tackled from the back.

"Uh," Alex cried as he fell onto the cement floor and turned to see his attacker.

"Opps," said a girl about Alex's age, "sorry about that." Alex brushed some dirt off his trainer shirt and picked himself up. "No problem," he said, "so, what's the rush?"

The girl did a small blush then pointed to the Harbor. "Oh, you're going to the Battle Frontier?" asked Alex. "Yes," the trainer replied showing her Pokébelt filled with all slots.

"He-he, show off," Alex said. The girl started to laugh.

"Well," she started, "where are you going?"

"Battle Frontier," Alex replied showing his five filled belt off.

"You're only taking five Pokémon to fight the toughest trainers in Hoenn?" asked the girl. Alex laughed at that.

"My Pokémon are strong enough to beat anyone," he started, "unfortunately though, I'm not going there to fight."

"Why not?" asked the girl, "you're just goanna watch the fights? That's kind of lame."

Alex sighed, "I'm not qualified yet to take them on," he showed her his Pokémon GYM Badges, "but I'm getting there."

"I knew you weren't strong enough," she said giggling.

Alex straightened his stance. "What's that suppose to mean?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well," stated the girl, "for starters, not a normal person who has beaten the Elite Four and is strong enough would ever wear that." She said pointing to Alex's clothes.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" asked Alex pretending to be offended.

The girl shook her head. "It's just that that type of clothing is really predictable for a beginner." She started to roll her eyes.

"Ahem," Alex showed her his four GYM Badges again.

"Not good enough," she replied laughing.

"Well," she started, "I got to go, I guess I'll see you around the Battle Frontier."

Alex smiled. "I guess I will."

The girl started to walk off. "Later, you should come now before it gets really crowded inside the Harbor." With that said she continued her pace and walked around the corner of the Pokémon Center.

"Wow," said Alex aloud, "soon, I'll be strong enough to take on the Elite Four, then I'll be strong enough to beat the Battle Frontier's finest, I can't wait." Alex turned and completely forgot he had his Jolteon right next to him the whole time. Zap was trying to tell him something, but all he could think about now was the girl.

* * *

Zap waited next to Alex while he talked to the girl, listening to every word said. He wasn't that kind of Pokémon that would just stick their nose into other people's business, excluding the fact he fought the Ninetales after listening to everything she had to say and then killed her. Zap was more of the protective type, but when a trainer is talking to another trainer, and the other trainer just happened to get along with his trainer _and_ be the opposite sex, what else is there but curiosity?

Zap listened in on everything they were saying, mostly about beating other trainers and stuff, nothing unexpected from trainers. The two trainers finally finished talking and started with the good-bye's.

_What the?_, thought Zap, _he didn't even get her name._ Zap shook his head wondering how his trainer would ever get a girl without giving away the one simple thing: a name.

The girl turned the other corner and left. "Wow," Alex said to himself, "soon, I'll be strong enough to take on the Elite Four, then I'll be strong enough to beat the Battle Frontier's finest, I can't wait."

Zap rolled his eyes. "What kind of a 'talk' was that?" Zap asked, "You could've at least got her name." Alex didn't seem to listen. "Whatever," Zap said aloud, "but your goanna need these skills in your future."

Alex finally got out of his trance. "Well," he said to Zap, "shall we get a move-on to the Battle Frontier?"

Zap rolled his eyes again, "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Charley and Darry waited in one of the long lines inside the Harbor to enter the _S.S. Tidal_. The _S.S. Tidal _was built for people of all ages to enjoy, inside there were many things anyone would want, from souvenirs to everyday items. There was a small swimming pool at the bottom of the boat with the steam rooms and even getting suntan from the machine. This boat had everything, it seemed like it was meant for all types of people, even the people that just stick to one type of Pokémon.

There were sixteen different types of rooms with every terrain for all Pokémon, rock, grass, water, fire, it had it all. In the center of the boat was the best part for all Pokémon trainers, a five row set battle arena.

"Oh yeah," started Darry, "this is the _S.S. Tidal_, only boat to go to the Battle Frontier."

It was getting very crowded inside the Harbor, the boat barely even fit. Charley pointed ahead. "Just move," he said playfully pushing Darry forward, "we're next."

The man at the entrance gave out his hand. "Tickets?"

Darry took out the two _S.S. Tidal _tickets and showed them to the man. "Okay," he moved out of the way, "you may pass." Darry entered first then Charley followed behind. Inside was exactly how they thought it would be: well decorated, rows of doors leading to Pokémon Domes, one door leading to the arena, a Pokémon Center, souvenir shops, kid hangouts, and even a buffet.

This was exactly what they needed, a short vacation away from terror. This was the best way to get rid of what happened before; leaving the curse behind, Charley really thought he would enjoy himself with this little trip to the Battle Frontier.

_Finally, something I can never forget and have a good time with_, thought Charley. He wouldn't forget it, and that's because this is where the true horror, the true mystery, really begins.


	9. Boat Challenge

Thank you for reviewing, WildTotodile. And too everyone if anyone that is reading this, if you're wondering about this curse and what it is, I'm keeping it a secret and it'll eventually explain more about the curse through flashbacks in the story. Flashbacks won't be coming frequently, but they will appear showing either about Charley's past or about Zap's past. In this estimate, there should be a flashback about a chapter or two away. Anyways, enough about this, onto the chapter:D

**Chapter 9: Boat Challenge**

Slowly, the boat was filled with people. Alex was one of the last trainers aboard the _S.S. Tidal_. The night started to come, it was already 7:25 PM. There were a couple of others just chatting on and waiting for them all to be called or just waiting till it wasn't as crowded. Alex was one of those trainers.

During most of the time at the Harbor, Alex chatted with many trainers that beat the Elite Four and were going to fight every other trainer they could find until they were sure they could beat all the trainers at the Battle Frontier, plus beat the hardest trainers in Hoenn at the same time. Alex just chatted with them all and got many tips on what moves the Elite Four would give and how to counter each attack, and chose what attacks to have for the Pokémon when he fights them. Finally, it was almost time for the _S.S. Tidal_ to be on its way and leave Slateport.

"Well," said Alex, "thanks for all the help, guys." The other trainer he was talking to and the trainers he was talking to before nodded. "Take care of yourself, good luck when you do fight the Elite Four," said the trainer. Alex nodded, "I will," then he walked off and went to the boat's entrance.

The line was much shorter than it was before, and so Alex only had to wait for about five minutes till he entered the ship. He showed his ticket to the man that had his hand out and was signaling it. "Enter, next!" shouted the man.

Alex walked into the beautifully made entrance and looked around him. There were Pokémon domes everywhere around the entrance, each with their own form of Pokémon Types. On the corner was a Pokémon Center for healing after battles (duh).

Everywhere around Alex was so much, he couldn't wait to finally beat the Elite Four.

Before getting ahead of himself, he ran across the carpeted floor and into the room keys store. People were showing their tickets to get a room that their tickets showed. Alex got in line and waited patiently for his own keys. He couldn't wait for all the surprises he would experience on the _S.S. Tidal_.

* * *

It was already just a few minutes left until the boat would leave the Harbor, about six or seven left. Charley was waiting inside the suite his parents had gotten for Darry. There was a TV in the room with a remote, but Charley wasn't in the mood for watching anything. The room was quiet, Darry was wondering around the ship looking for anyone he recognized that was with him at the time he fought the Elite Four.

After so much silence, the boat started to move. Charley saw through the window a few people waving, probably the parents or relatives of trainers that were going to the Battle Frontier, and others just minding their own business. After a few minutes, the boat went pass the covering at the end and outside into the lowering sun, and into the sea.

The boat traveled for awhile and stayed with the pace it was going at, all the time with Charley being bored as hell in the suite.

_Oh well, why not_, thought Charley. He got up from his seat and went straight for the door. He opened it and made sure he had a copy of the keys with him, and then he walked off into the direction of the Pokémon battles. _If anywhere, he would be found there_.

* * *

"Alright, I'm goanna go look around the ship Charley," said Darry, "want to come?" Charley shook his head no. Darry shrugged. "Alright, if you want to find me I should just be in the Pokémon Center. I'll be back later."

Darry walked out of the door. "Okay, later," Charley replied. Darry continued out the door and closed it. He then walked off in the direction of the main hall entrance.

There were a lot of trainers there, especially in the Pokémon Center, probably because they were planning on battling when the ship would start to move. Darry moved to the center of the Pokémon Center and started to get in line for healing. He still hadn't really healed his Swellow yet.

The line moved slowly, but finally the intercom went on. "Ladies and gentlemen," the announcement started, "we are about to leave the Harbor, the Pokémon Battle Arena will open shortly, have fun with all your amazing battles." The intercom clicked off and most of the trainers cheered inside the Pokémon Center and walked out, waiting for a battle to face.

The line moved faster now that it wasn't overloaded with trainers all chatting, and in just a few minutes the nurse finally attended him. Darry put his Pokéball on the counter. "My Swellow got in a bit of a struggle getting here, he was hurt badly." Nurse Joy got the Pokéball and put it on the machine. "Bad things never seem to stop happening anymore, do they?" asked Nurse Joy shaking her head. Darry nodded. "You have no idea how bad it was in the past five months." He said.

Nurse Joy got the Pokéball when it was done and tossed it to Darry. "There you go, enjoy your time aboard the _S.S. Tidal_." Darry nodded. "I will. Hey, can I use the PC System for awhile?" Darry asked, pointing to the small computer on the corner. Nurse Joy shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with that, go ahead."

Darry walked to the computer and started it up. He went to his Pokémon Storage and started to get five Pokémon out: Linoone, Azumarill, Medicham, Dusclops, and Camerupt. Each of the Pokémon he had were going with each weakness, there was no chance that anyone had some other Pokémon to beat him because he was carrying the basic types instead of just one type or an overload of one type with little of another.

Darry felt the floor start to move a bit as the ship suddenly started to sail forward. _Finally_, thought Darry and walked off on the direction of the Pokémon Arena. Already, there were trainers ready to go right in and have a battle. On the entrance was a man sitting at a table with an intercom and talking into it.

"Alright," he started to say into the intercom, "this is how it'll work: I'll call out five of you lucky trainers to come right up here, and let _you_ pick your challenge. Okay, lets start."

He called out some trainers by old fashion point and bring. Soon, there were five people there, three girls and two boys. They stood in front of the doors as the man started to say something else into the intercom. "Okay, we got our five trainers ready for battling, so, let's start with you miss." He pointed to the crowd, "so, who will it be?"

The girl looked around the crowd looking for someone worth a challenge or someone to lose a reputation. She raised her finger and pointed to a teenager around sixteen and he slowly walked up to her.

"So, we've got a challenge here!" shouted the man and opened the door to let them both in, "walk right in, everything's set up already." The two challengers walked in and through the glass door, the crowd could see them get ready to start in one of the battle rings.

The man did the same with the others to choose who they wanted. By the forth one, a girl was picked to choose who she wanted. It was shocking to Darry, because the person she picked was him.

"Alright young man, get over here," said the man. Darry walked through the crowd and went up to the girl. She was beautiful. "Alright, you know the drill, move on to your battle!"

Darry walked with the girl into the huge room with two battles already started, one right about to, and the one that left him and the girl to fight. "so," started the girl as they walked together, "what's your name?"

"Darry," said Darry, "what about you?" the girl continued to walk and they eventually went their separate ways to start the battle. "Jill," she finally replied across the field, "so what type of Pokémon are you into?" Darry snickered knowing the answer was something that most trainers ever liked. "All types," he said.

The referee started to wave the yellow flag showing that they were about to begin. "Well, good luck with the battle." Darry nodded, "thanks, you too."

"Ready!" yelled the Referee, "and…" he slowly raised the green flag, Darry got ready and tried to see what type of trainer he was fighting and know what to do first, he didn't know much about her Pokémon so he just had to make a good guess. "Battle!" yelled the Referee swinging the green flag.


	10. Encounter

Sorry for the long wait guys (or whoever reads this.:P) things got in the way, hopefully you'll forgive me by letting me give you the extremely longest chapter I've ever made in the history of ever:O heh, enjoy.

**Chapter 10: Encounter**

Alex finished getting his keys and walked off to a bench. Many people were there taking out their Pokémon to show-off, and there were a lot of trainers waiting patiently just to get to battle on the Pokémon Arena. Alex sighed and got a Pokéball from his belt out. He really wanted company on the long ride to the Battle Frontier.

"come-out," he said throwing the Pokéball, "Ghost." The ghost-type formed together and looked back at its trainer. "Sab-leye?" Ghost asked in his own language. Alex sighed, "You know, all of this stuff here is making me really jealous about everyone that has already beaten the Elite Four. This is just a ship, imagine the actual Battle Frontier." He rolled his eyes and wondered of everything he would be missing by the time the time came to finally be able to fight the Elite Four.

"Blaye, sableye sleye ley," answered Ghost. Alex turned around and in every corner he saw people with all eight Hoenn Gym Badges. "Just think," said Alex, "eventually, we'll be the ones on this ship with all the badges. I can't wait for that day to come." Alex looked to the Pokémon Arena and saw people getting ready to fight.

"Come-on," said Alex, "let's take notes." He got off the bench and started to walk to the watchers doors. There was a small concession stand serving Hot-dogs, Burgers, and Pizza.

"Do you want something to eat, Ghost?" asked Alex. Ghost nodded his head. Alex got behind the two people in line and waited for his turn with Ghost at his side. After a few minutes, Alex turned his attention to Ghost and saw that he was looking the other direction, in the area where the suites were. "What's the matter Ghost?"

Ghost gave a look to the opposite way and shook his head. "Sab," he answered. Even though it looked like Ghost had said nothing was wrong, Alex couldn't help but wonder about what he was thinking.

* * *

Ghost waited with Alex in the line. Everywhere he looked he saw his trainer's dream. To him, whether they made it that far or not, he would still be happy. He had to admit though; he was starting to like fighting. It made his job seem more like a game. A really hard game you have to work at in not only your power, but in skill of it and physical strength.

He heard a noise somewhere around him. Ghost turned in all directions trying to see what it was. He couldn't tell if anything was wrong because all the other trainers seemed jolly and talked with each other not caring about a thing in the world, but something inside him told him to be careful. It was a strange sense he had very rarely, he hadn't even had it with his trainer yet until that very moment. It was a sense that told when there was a powerful and dangerous Pokémon coming into the cave area he used to live in before he met Alex. The thing that kept him wondering was that they only went off when there was a threatening Pokémon, only wilds that were dangerous. Whenever it was a trainer's Pokémon they never would go off.

_Could it be_, thought Ghost, _that there is a dangerous Pokémon onboard?_ Everywhere he looked were carefree trainers chatting about something either important or just nonsense. Through the jewels of eyes Ghost had he tried to find something, _anything_ that posed a threat, but he couldn't see anything.

With a quick glance, Ghost turned to see a shadow on one of the walls, but nothing to reflect with. What was more, it seemed to be hovering. It was like staring at smoke, his sense was telling him danger, but in the opposite direction of where the shadow was. He turned around and looked into the hall that the strange feeling was pointing towards; it was the 'Hall of Suites' that the humans always wanted to get to. Even though he saw nothing, his senses kept telling him something was there.

"What's the matter Ghost," his trainer Alex asked. Ghost faced the direction of where the shadow was and saw it was gone, and thankfully so was the sense. "Nothing," replied Ghost shaking his head.

* * *

Alex was next in line. He looked at the menu for a moment wondering what to get. "Well hi there," said the employee at the stand, "what would you like?" it was a girl asking him the question. Alex looked at the menu again and then started to order.

"I'll have a burger with medium fries and a medium sprite," said Alex, "what do you got for Pokémon?" "Well," started the girl, "let's see." She took out a small card menu from the bottom of the counter. "We've got the ordinary Pokémon food, then we got-erm-what type of flavor berry or Pokéblock do your Pokémon like?"

Alex thought about that for a moment. He never really gave them a berry or Pokéblock before; he always gave them Pokémon food. "I'll just stick with Pokémon food." Said Alex

"Here you go," said the girl and passed Alex the Burger with fries and drink all in one bag (except the drink) and the Pokémon food. "That'll be 240 Pokédollors."

Alex searched his wallet and took out the money. "Thank you sir, have a nice ride on the _S.S. Tidal_." Alex got the food and called Ghost who was again staring at some random direction, but then snapped out of it and followed Alex.

Alex went inside the Pokémon Arena and sat on one of the bleachers with many other trainers watching the Pokémon Battle. "Here you go, Ghost," said Alex giving the Sableye the Pokémon food. Alex took a bite from the Burger and stared intently at the five battles going on. It didn't come to him when he noticed two very familiar trainers fighting each other, and he met both of them earlier that day.

* * *

"Battle!" yelled the Referee. In a flash, Jill got out her best skilled Pokémon from her belt. "Go, Skarmory!" she threw her Pokéball onto the field. Out came the Skarmory with red in its eyes and dark pupils, along with a heavily armored body of steel blades ready for battle.

"Noon, go!" yelled Darry releasing his Linoone. This was going to be a bit hard for Jill to fight, Linoone is a normal type; it can basically learn any types. She turned to her Skarmory and thought of a good move to fight a normal type. _The only moves that Skarmory has strong against a normal are the steel moves and that HM, but I can't risk getting Skarmory near it, who knows what this guy has taught it_, thought Jill not underestimating both of them, she remembered what happened the last time she underestimated. Jill didn't have enough time to think anymore; she heard Darry give Linoone a command and saw it start to give electric energy, it was Shock Wave.

_Oh crap_, thought Jill. And immediately gave Skarmory a plan, it would be hard though since Skarmory was like a 5'09" lightning rod, plus the move Linoone was using never missed opponents. "Skarmory, throw spikes on the field!"

With even more speed than the Linoone, Skarmory released its steel blades outwards and let small spiky steel objects be tossed on the ground making them scatter everywhere on the field Darry was in. just a few more spikes were thrown until Skarmory was hit by the waving electric shock and fell injured on the floor.

One hit almost knocked Skarmory out due to it being a flying and steel mix. Jill knew that Skarmory couldn't make it on the field if Darry used another Shock Wave, so she did the one remaining plan she should have used right at the beginning of the battle…

"Skarmory, return," she yelled throwing her Pokéball onto the field and returning her Pokémon. She had to think about what type she would use next. She was fighting a normal type; she needed something strong against one. Jill took out her Pokéball and threw it onto the field. "Go Machoke!"

The fighting type came out of the Pokéball and looked at its surroundings until it laid its eyes on Noon. "Noon, return!" yelled Darry as he got out the Pokéball and called back his Linoone. "Feather, come out!" at that, he released a Pokémon out and Jill groaned. A Swellow was in the Linoone's place.

_Great_, thought Jill, _good thing I used that TM on the right Pokémon_. She remembered when she passed her first GYM, Roxanne had been kind enough to give her a good Technical Machine for winning. "Machoke, use Rock Tomb!"

With all of his strength, Machoke slammed his fist into the ground. "Ma-choke!" it yelled as three chunks from the ground came up, then he punched them hard enough to move them to the Swellow without breaking them.

"Feather, dodge it and use Arial Ace!" shouted Darry, and quickly, the Swellow moved away from the first rock, but was hit by the remaining two. "No!" yelled Darry as his Swellow fell back. Jill saw Darry trying to talk to his Pokémon. "Can you fight?" he asked it. By then, Jill knew what type of trainer Darry was. He was the type that cared more about his Pokémon if injured than to command it to continue fighting. But, that was just her speculation, she honestly couldn't say much about him, from the looks of it though, it seemed that way and she planned to use that to her advantage.

As soon as Jill saw Darry give Swellow the Super Potion, she told her Machoke silently to use Seismic Toss when ready. This gave an advantage since she didn't have to repeat it and her opponent wouldn't see it coming in time. In the corner of her eye, she saw Darry also telling the Swellow something. _Great, none of us will see anything coming_, thought Jill.

Darry finished and turned to his opponent. "You ready?" Jill asked. Darry nodded and gave the OK for Feather. The Swellow with great force flew straight for Jill's Machoke. "Machoke, now!"

Machoke ran looking like it was going to Headbutt the Swellow, then turned slightly to the right and reached out for Feather's wing. He missed as Feather changed its flying direction and went back for Machoke using fly.

"Machoke," yelled Jill, "try and counter the attack!" Machoke was hit and pushed back by the force, he was getting weak by the attack, it was too powerful. With all the strength he had left, Machoke jumped by Feather and pushed his fist right into it.

The Swellow cried out in pain and slowly picked itself up with the attack pinching every bone in its body. "Feather, Return!" Jill sighed as she heard that and was ready to congratulate her Machoke for the fight and call him back, but then she found out Darry wasn't calling his Pokémon back.

Just as Machoke was walking back to Jill, with all of the Swellow's love and passion for fighting with its trainer, it went and attacked with one lost blow, Return. "No," yelled Jill, "why didn't I see that coming!"

Jill just cursed at herself and returned her fainted Machoke. Darry did the same with his and called out another Pokémon. "Go Erupt!" yelled Darry releasing his Camerupt from its Pokéball. It couldn't really get a good stand as it formed on the floor, its massive body forced it down and pushed the spikes scattered into its feet causing damage.

_Ha, perfect_, thought Jill as she reached for her next Pokémon which was slightly smaller than Darry's Camerupt, but still had somewhat a good type advantage move.

* * *

Amy was quiet waiting for anything. She was very comfortable, but she knew her best friend, Jill, was way too much of a trainer. Amy remembered the first time she met Jill; they were back at Lilycove City, Jill's hometown. Amy was from the Kanto Region, she remembered what her home looked like with her entire family, but she always tried to avoid thinking about that. It was in Kanto that her cave was attacked by Team Rocket; they took almost every Pokémon in the Icefall Cave without hesitation. The worst part was that they ended taking her family away. That was the last she saw of her family. Her Mom, her Dad, her somewhat annoying two brothers and the only other brother that actually made sense, her sister and her friend too. It was too much, before Team Rocket took her mother away, her mother told Amy to run. And like anyone would do at that time, she listened and without a word, ran away to find _someone_ at Four Island that could help her.

She ended up being taken away, but not by Team Rocket. With only time and hope, she went with the trainer that took her, someone around twenty. He was a determined person, and he was taking Amy to Hoenn; Amy liked that fact of leaving Team Rocket, but couldn't help but blame herself for what happened in Kanto.

After they arrived in Hoenn, the trainer went to a house that was celebrating. That's when she met Jill. Turned out that everyone was having a party for Jill finally going on a Pokémon journey. At the end of the party, Amy joined Jill's journey and Jill promised Amy that she would be her best friend.

That's what started off a journey of hard work, and now they finally reached the top. Amy was proud to be with Jill, even if Jill sometimes didn't understand her. Now she waited for the call on which Jill said were the last battles until they ended their quest, and then…

"Sneasel, come-out!" a voice came through the walls of her peace and slowly light seeped into the round sphere Amy was resting in, red light appeared everywhere. It all flushed around her, and she was transported out of the small red and white Pokéball. Amy looked at her surroundings, in front was a trainer dressed in well clothing, next to him was a towering Camerupt ready for action, and of course, behind her was her best friend, and trainer, Jill. "Alright, seems simple enough," said Amy.

"Simple enough?" asked the Camerupt readying himself for the battle, "please, I was trained to be able to avoid and conquer anything, advantage or even disadvantage."

Amy shifted herself to a fighting position as well. "Well," started Amy, "all we can do know is find out." She smiled as she knew and felt the positive feeling flow through her and listened for a command from her trainer.

"Sneasel, use Slash!" at the start of the command, Amy ran right at the Camerupt right as it was about to attack. "Erupt, Take Down now!" just as the Camerupt was going right for Amy, she jumped at the right moment and just managed to walk over Camerupt with the jump and onto the other side, where she turned and slashed at its back.

The Camerupt roared in a small pain but then pushed it aside and turned to face Amy, which now made it seem that Amy belonged to the other trainer and that Camerupt belonged to Jill.

"Sneasel, use Rain Dance!" Amy started to charge up her body making her appear somewhat bluish for awhile, then like as if summoning a spirit, she reached above her and made the water that appeared as if from nowhere to the top of the arena and start off the sprinkler system which threw more water down onto only her battle field.

"Erupt, use Flamethrower!" Camerupt blew steam out through its nose and like a horse would in the cold when breathing hard, got on its back legs and blew flames in the air for awhile then slammed its front feet on the ground causing a minor earthquake and making Amy uneasy trying to balance herself, then it blew with all the strength of heat in its body it had at Amy.

Fire twirled towards Amy as she waited for her trainer's command. "Sneasel, do it now!" Amy concentrated on the water that fell onto the arena floor, some of it slowing the flamethrower down as it hurtled pass the small water droplets and towards Amy. Quickly, Amy pushed as she concentrated and the water started to form a wall in front of her. It started a wave that stopped the flamethrower completely and dashed at Erupt. Amy had successfully done the move, surf.

The water hit Camerupt hard, but like it said earlier, it was trained to handle type disadvantage attacks. Quickly, with so little hit points of life, the Camerupt got up and aimed at Amy.

"Alright, you know what to do now Erupt!" the Camerupt nodded and started to charge up its body. A bright beam started to form in its mouth, not like a Solar or Hyper Beam. Amy found the attack and started to back up to try and get away from the blast that was about to be shot. Camerupt used Eruption.

A beam of fire and light shot at Amy, and just a few feet away until…

"Use Faint Attack Sneasel!" yelled Jill, and before the Eruption could even touch her, she disappeared into a dark cloud opening next to her. With the portal like opening still open, the Eruption attack entered with Amy. Another opening appeared by the side of Erupt and at that precise moment, Amy jumped out of the way when a bright light followed her out and hit the Camerupt hard.

Erupt couldn't stand the pain of its own attack, so it fainted onto the floor, tipping on its side and causing a small quake from impact.

"Yes!" yelled Jill, "you defeated it, Sneasel!" Jill was excited about her win; Amy walked back to her side of the field and turned around to see the other trainer calling back his Pokémon and getting another Pokéball ready to throw.

"You want to try again?" asked Jill. Amy nodded still facing the other trainer. "I can handle anything he'll throw at me," replied Amy with still confidence. Jill agreed with showing the "OK" sign with her fingers and was ready for the next Pokémon the other trainer would throw against her.

"Aqua, go!" yelled the trainer and he released an Azumarill. The Azumarill immediately got ready for the fight with a fighting stance set right at release point, and messing up due to the spikes. This time, Amy was in a bit of trouble. She didn't have any attacks strong against water; she was just going to have to get it with all she had.

* * *

Charley walked passed the many trainers hanging out right around the place, nothing bothered anyone. Through the crowd there were many stores and gift shops everywhere. Charley didn't really feel that bothered like most people weren't, but the fact was that he still felt something _strange_. Slowly taking every step he took, something came over him that gave a short chill, and then it went away.

Charley stopped at a small bench and rested. Now he could admit he was bothered. Everywhere he looked he saw happy trainers, but he felt something had or _was_ going to go wrong. He tried to ignore it, but then a sharp pain came screeching inside his body.

He tried to look normal, but the pain was too much. He quickly got up and ran inside a store. With the pain hanging inside his body, he talked to the clerk.

"Excuse me," said Charley, "do you know where the restrooms are, I really got to go." The man backed away seeing Charley slouched on the counter and then pointed to a hall across the store with a big sign that read: Casino, Restrooms, Pokémon Grooming…

It went on with two other signs. "Right over there, um, I didn't need to know _that _much information," said the clerk and then started to give a weak laugh. Charley ignored him and ran out the store and into the hallway. The pain slowly grew even more with every single step.

Charley dashed into the door and leaned against the sink looking into the mirror in front of him. The pain grew more and Charley could see in the mirror a little blurry. He tried to concentrate on one thing but he couldn't.

_Okay_, thought Charley, _come-on, think of something!_

Charley looked more into the mirror and looked straight into his left eye. It was vibrating; Charley could see his pupils start to grow big then small. He closed his eyes as more pain came from his stomach. He opened his eyes and looked into the left one again. He could see an image, then it was as if all sight went away to show him something.

It was like watching a movie, Charley was swimming in water in the image, and there were many people around him drowning each other. He could hear himself screaming someone's name. He couldn't make out the name he was shouting. He realized he was outside somewhere. As Charley tried to see where he was, he saw ocean all around him, there was a boat right near everyone. The _S.S. Tidal_!

People were shouting, there were also Pokémon in the water, some saving people, others dieing due to type disadvantage. Fire Pokémon were drifting unmoving on the water, probably dead. It finally came to him that the _S.S. Tidal_ was on fire, one side was cracking and breaking apart, the other was started to lean to the side. The side Charley was on!

It turned and Charley saw people flying out into the water. Charley was looking around shouting someone's name, but he didn't know _who_. Straight ahead was a submarine, and written on the side of it was one terrifying sign: Team Aqua.

Charley was brought back to reality in the restroom. He looked around him and saw no one. He turned his attention back to the mirror; nothing different on his facial features. He stared into his eyes and saw the pupils back to normal size. Charley knew what he just saw, and knew that it was going to happen. He had just used a Pokémon attack, more specifically, Future Sight.

Charley was shaking now. He didn't want to die, or for that matter see anyone else die. _Who was I calling?_, thought Charley now confused. He was thinking too much about what he saw, he wasn't paying any attention to the figure slowly forming behind him.

Smoke came across all behind Charley; silently it started to form behind him. There was too much smoke there, and it started to get to one place, and was shaping a human form. Charley noticed through the mirror and quickly turned around to see the smoke come together. The grey and dark smoke started to get some color; it gave way to a face that was very familiar to Charley.

"No," said Charley silently, "your dead, how are you hear?" the figure now fully human (except for the small smoke strides), walked over to Charley. It grabbed his T-shirt collar and pulled him up, Charley started kicking around and started yelling for him to let go. The figure smiled at Charley, and then with all strength, it threw him across the room, making him hit the toilet door head first, and get knocked out.

* * *

Again, sorry for the wait. Oh yeah, and about Feather not being hit by the spikes, I found that pretty hard to put. A bird slipping on spikes? I don't know, seems kind of impossible to me. One more thing, I haven't really played Pokémon in quite awhile, and I haven't really seen the show in a L-O-N-G time, so sorry if I did the battles wrong or explained the attacks wrong. It would help if I got a couple of reviews, heh. :P 


	11. Pokémon Battle

Okay, here we go. I've managed to get down two chapters in one day! W00t!  
Um, read and review?  
:O

**Chapter 11: Pokémon Battle**

Knocked out, was he really? The last thing Charley remembered was being picked up and thrown across the restroom. He felt the pain pulse in his head, but just for a moment, then it stopped. Charley slowly got up and looked around. Nothing.

_What happened?_, Charley thought, _I was picked up, thrown across the room, then…_

Charley looked at his surroundings and saw complete darkness everywhere. There was nothing. He put his hands in front of him and started to walk straight trying to find anything to hold on to. It seemed really dangerous; he didn't know where he was and for whatever he knew, he could've been standing on a cliff edge. Slowly he got on the floor and started crawling feeling for anything.

Up ahead of him, he started to see something. It was yellow, each time it walked, charley could swear that it would blur like a bad TV reception. Charley could make out a tail behind it; it had ears with black shading on its head. Charley got off the floor and walked back a bit seeing the small creature come closer.

It stopped coming and just stood still. Charley looked at it closely and saw that it clearly was like a hologram. Charley turned around and was about to run from it when it appeared right in front right when it turned. This surprised Charley, he fell on his back and started to walk backwards like a crab would away from what he could tell now was a Pikachu.

It looked coldly at Charley and started to smile. "What's the matter," asked the Pikachu, "seems like you've gotten a scare."

Charley got up and stood still just looking at the Pikachu horrified. Then, without warning, it gave a Thundershock attack right at Charley making him cry in pain.

"Guess what Char," said the Pikachu, "I don't like the way you used the curse." Charley tried to get up from the pain striking everywhere in his body. "Th-th-th-then why did you give it to me?" asked Charley still sort of paralyzed from the attack. The Pikachu appeared right in front of Charley and punched him real hard. "Do you have any idea how much shit I went threw getting rid of that curse!" yelled the Pikachu, "and then what happens, I die and stay stuck with this Pikachu body because _you _were too scared to pass the fucking curse down!"

Charley got up and towered over the Pikachu. With his foot, he kicked the Pikachu away but was shocked by it and fell again. Charley gasped and picked himself up to a sitting position. "It wasn't the right thing," he said with a low voice, "don't you understand? If I passed the curse down, sure you would come back to your normal self, but you curse would live on and continue its killing spree."

The Pikachu got up and zapped Charley for that. "Fuck you shithead!" he yelled at Charley. Charley, unbelievingly being able to take that many Thundershocks, kept his balance sitting down, feeling his life drift away slowly.

"Alright," started Charley, he was losing energy from the attacks, "what would _you _have done if I passed the curse down? Yay, you're human, then what? Unless you were with _me _when you had the curse, then you wouldn't be saying this. You wouldn't be trying to kill me. _I _was at the Rocket Headquarters, I saw what they planned, maybe when you had the curse, no one was there for you, but when _I _had the curse, bad things started to happen. And the only one who could save me was my brother. When he was taken away by Team Rocket, they thought he had the curse, when it was _me_."

"SHUT UP," yelled the Pikachu throwing a thundershock, but this time, Charley dodged it. "By the way, this is exactly what the curse wanted," said Charley, "it wanted you to get confused, and get hopeless. A Pokémon is never hopeless; they always have feelings no matter what. That's why you're stuck as a Pikachu. Because you gave up, but the Pikachu inside you didn't. It wanted _out_. The curse is powered by your sense of emotion, if for some idiotic reason you give up, this is what happens. This is the power of the curse, not to torture you by turning you into a Pokémon, but to haunt you until you die. You passed the curse to me, I never passed it, I thought about it, anything to escape being a Pokémon, but I didn't. Because it was wrong!"

The Pikachu was furious now. It jumped right at Charley knocking him to the floor and knocking the breath out in the huge darkness. Charley pushed the Pikachu away yet again and continued talking. "The only way to escape was to cooperate with your Pokémon you were stuck with!" yelled Charley, "Now, that Pikachu is either dead and somewhere in heaven or still alive and thanking Mew it escaped! It was lucky, all the Pokémon were lucky! Because they wouldn't give up, they managed to survive! A few weeks ago, I thought I killed the curse, I thought it was finally over! I stopped hearing Pokémon speak, I stopped doing Pokémon attacks! I actually thought I killed it! But for some strange reason, its back, and it wants _me _dead!"

"Well let's not stop that!" yelled the Pikachu and then it screamed a high pitched cry. Charley had to cover his ears as the sound pierced through his body, then, lighting came around. Not enough to see everything, but just enough to see that he was surrounded by hundreds of different Pokémon. Out of the Pokémon crowd, there were about eighteen that stood out. They were humans. This curse had caught and killed hundreds of humans and locked their souls in Pokémon forms, and only about eighteen humans were able to overcome it, and have their Pokémon locked in human forms.

"Pikachu, think about what you're doing!" yelled Charley as soon as the Pikachu stopped. It looked at Charley coldly. "My name's not Pikachu, it's Greg." With that said, he pointed at Charley, "Kill him!"

Right on his command, the Pokémon started to pile up on Charley. Charley tried to get away from them, but they started tearing away at him, they wouldn't stop. Charley couldn't take the pain, from the sharp rough skin of a Carvanha to a painful punch of a Hitmonchan. Fire, water, grass, dark, all type attacks were hitting Charley, and every single one of them hurt. So many Pokémon were attacking, Charley couldn't take anymore of it. His screams were useless, he couldn't breath. The cursed that didn't make it were killing him, for not passing it down.

_No_, thought Charley through pain, _I won't die like this! I won't!_

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Charley, and just like how Lugia would come rushing out of the water, Charley used his powers and flew into the air with a few Pokémon holding onto him. He grabbed the Pokémon on his arm, Marowak, and flung it to the rest below keeping its bone with still four other Pokémon holding onto him. With the bone, he hit the Wartortle at his feet and saw it plunge into the other Pokémon.

A Scyther flew up to Charley along with a Charizard. The Scyther slashed at Charley with its scythes, but Charley moved the Tangela in his arm in the way. Its scythes got stuck with the Tangela, and then Charley swung the stuck Tangela and Scyther, grass and bug types, over Charizard who tried to hit him with Flamethrower. He swung the other two Pokémon on him off and pushed the Tangela against Charizard's blazing tail. Charizard turned around and shot another Flamethrower, but he flew back and left the Tangela and Scyther in the way and saw them burn by the attack.

The Charizard rushed by Charley and swung its wings hard against his face. Charley was pushed back by the force of the Wing Attack, and then the Charizard grabbed his arm and swung him with Seismic Toss back to the darkened ground, where Pokémon started to surround him again.

A Seadra shot out gallons of water at Charley as he was pushed back by wetness. With instinct, Charley put his hand up and was able to stop a hand from hitting him. He grabbed tight to it and swung it at the Seadra. It was the hand and body of a huge Hariyama.

_Holy cow, I carried **that **thing with my hands!_

Charley was pushed to the ground as the weight of the Charizard started to crush his back. The Charizard glared at him then used Heat Wave. It started to get hot; his right pant leg started to burn on fire. Charley used Psychic and was able to push the Charizard away.

Charley's pant leg was still on fire; he jumped up but was tackled by two Pokémon: a Nidorina and an Oddish. Charley kicked the Oddish with his pant on fire which burned the little Pokémon and whipped the rest of the fire off on Nidorina. The Pokémon was furious now. Charley used his powers again and flew into the air and rushed down hard causing an earthquake.

Charley felt someone walk from around him, turned with his fist ready just to have it blocked by another human. Charley looked at the person, which the 'human' caught as a good chance to attack. He kicked Charley in the knees dropping him on the floor and jumped with his elbow ready to plunge into Charley's stomach. The hit missed as someone dragged him from underneath, a human girl.

Charley was about to punch her without hesitation, but she ducked under and instead of trying to hit him, she punched a Pokémon. Charley got distracted by that, then the girl rushed passed him and kicked a Heracross out of the way.

It finally got Charley that this person was _helping _him. "Are you protecting me?" he asked.

The girl after almost getting zapped by a Electabuzz turned to Charley. "Yes." She replied. A Magmar almost hit her with a Fire Punch, but Charley got in front of the girl and formed Thunderpunch with his hands on it. Charley turned to the girl. "Why?" he asked and was immediately tackled by a Tauros.

The pain of the punch was too strong for him; he fell to the ground with a cracked bone in his back, unable to move. Charley's eye's glowed white; he was using one of the curse's attacks now.

"Keep doing that!" yelled the girl kicking a Staryu away, and then came to Charley's aid. "What's happening?" Charley asked as the light spread and forced a shield blocking the Pokémon from coming to them. The girl looked at him. "You're Teleporting."

With a flash, light engulfed them and they disappeared from the scene.


	12. Cursed

Wow, I'm on a row today! Three Chapters in one day! Wow, this is fun! Ah, but I feel tired now, even though it's just 10:20 PM, so this is the last chapter for today and I hope I go extreme writer crazy some other time like today. :P Well, like I asked in the passed three chapters, please Read and Review. :D

**Chapter 12: Cursed**

Darry had to be careful now. This trainer Jill was a tough one. He had already gone through all of his Pokémon and they all fainted due to spikes left on the floor and the fact that he underestimated her Sneasel. Now it was his last chance to beat the now tired Sneasel, but even then he didn't know what other Pokémon Jill had. Everything was narrowed down to the last Pokémon for Darry; he didn't think his last Pokémon would win. It wasn't type disadvantage that got to him, his Medicham was doing a good job, it's just that his Medicham, Mede, wasn't that strong anymore. To think the battle started like he would win, eh?

"Sneasel, Beat Up!" yelled Jill, and not a second later, the small Sneasel ran all around Mede and just struck him with its claws once, and now one more hit would cause Darry to lose. He didn't know what to do, and the Sneasel was already jumping in the air for one last strike. It hit Mede in the head and Mede collapsed in defeat. "Mede, return!" called Darry getting his Pokémon back. He felt like he could've done better, but the point was that he tried.

"Great battle Jill," Darry called over to her. She smiled at him back and walked off. Darry sighed and wondered what next. Darry looked up at the ceiling for some reason just thinking about nothing until a ship employee walked over to him.

"Excuse me sir," he said through his mustache, "were ready for the next trainer battle, I'm goanna have to ask you to step aside." Darry listened and walked away from the arena, he was already about to exit the door when…

A small _buzz_ noise came from the lighting on the ceiling. Many people looked up and saw the some lights start to flicker on and off. Children started to panic from the bleachers; Darry looked out the door and saw a few centered lights were beginning to flicker too. After a few moments of flickering lights, they all just completely turned off.

It was silent for a moment, and then many passengers started to talk loudly and started arguing over the lights out. It was way too dark; Darry couldn't even see his hand in front of him. He walked back into the arena and saw the once fighting trainers were taking out their fire types, or any type that gave light.

Something was wrong, Darry could feel it. It wasn't the thing that you felt when you get chills, this was something else entirely. Darry ran through the crowd leaving the bleachers trying to see where to go and bumped into someone.

"Oh," said Darry, "sorry sir, I didn't see"

"Hey," interrupted the person, "you're the guy I ran into behind the Pokémon Center earlier with that kid with the weird powers, aren't you?"

Darry looked through the darkness, and indeed, he saw the trainer that had been with his brother. "Didn't I tell you to go home, trainee?" asked Darry purposely trying to make him mad. Well, it worked.

"Just because you beat the Elite Four doesn't mean you have to refer to me like a kid! I've got four badges already!" he yelled. Darry rolled his eyes, luckily though, since it was dark, the other trainer didn't see him do that. "Who are you anyways?" Darry had to ask. The other trainer looked at him through the darkness and said, "Alex, you?"

"I'm Darry." Darry replied. Alex released a Pokémon, a Jolteon, and then got back to talking with Darry. "So, what's the story behind you and your brother, because I'm sure it's not the same trainer story."

Darry sighed. "I wish I could tell someone, but what happened between my brother and I is a very disturbing story." Alex chuckled, "aw come-on, can't be that disturbing."

Darry tried to remember what happen, and had the same flashbacks he always had. "I'll tell you a part of it, but it's not like your goanna believe me anyways." Alex raised an eyebrow, "try me."

Darry sighed again. "well, to tell you the truth, the most disturbing part is when I first saw my brother coming into my hotel room, he gave me my Pokédex, and without a word was about to leave. It was night, so I didn't think he should have left. I told him to stay, but he kept saying something bad was going to happen to him, that night when I awoke from my sleep…"

* * *

_Crash!_ A noise came from the other room. It sounded like as if it was in the same hotel room, Darry immediately got his Pokéballs and walked next to the door. He tried to listen; there was a sound of dragging. _What's going on?_, wondered Darry.

Slowly he opened the door. Silence was all around the room. Darry looked around the big entrance; he had gotten a suite from his parents. Apparently they wanted their son to have one of the best Pokémon Journeys ever. "Hey," Darry called out, "Charley? Are you there?"

No reply. Darry went passed the entrance and into the room that Charley was in. Charley was gone. Darry went back to the main entrance and into the small kitchen there. He turned on the lights and saw nothing there. It was odd; he definitely heard something being dragged. He turned around and saw a shadow standing outside the balcony.

"Hey," called Darry, "Charley, what are you doing?" he walked over to him but stopped right before the glass door. Charley was holding something in his hand; Darry knew he didn't come in there with anything. Charley was holding some kind of stick. Darry opened the sliding door and stood right there. "What are you doing?"

Charley turned around and faced Darry. Darry got a shocked expression and fell on his back once he saw what Charley was carrying. It was a shotgun. Charley cocked it once; the used bullet fell out and was ready for usage. Then Charley aimed the gun at his own head.

"Charley don't!" yelled Darry. _BAM!

* * *

_

"I can't tell you more," said Darry. Alex looked a bit shocked. He got rid of the look he had and tried to talk to Darry again. "But that doesn't explain why he has powers."

Darry walked passed him and his Jolteon. "It explains enough to me." He continued to walk away. Alex shrugged. "Are you buying this story Spark?" his jolteon gave shrug, and a few seconds later his Sableye came from the shadows.

"Ghost, did you find anything wrong with the ship?" asked Alex. The Sableye nodded its head. "Alright, lead the way." All of a sudden, the lights came right on. There were a lot of people there wondering about the sudden lights out. With the lights back on, Alex decided to follow the mysterious Darry character. "C'mon guys, let's go." His Jolteon and Sableye followed him as he left the room and went passed the hall. The lights turned on and off for awhile, then stayed on.

"Where did he go?" asked Alex. He turned around to face his two Pokémon, Jolteon who again shrugged, and then he turned to Sableye who was looking at the boys' restroom. "Ghost, what's wrong?" Ghost got out of his trance and pointed to the restroom. Alex walked up to it and pushed the door. A flood of water started to pour out.

"What the?" Alex was confused; he pushed the door open to see that there was water everywhere. The urine stalls were fine, but one of the toilet doors was open and broken leaking water. Alex slowly walked to the stall to get a closer look. He got close enough to see a girl standing over a guy, the guy that saved him from Team Magma.

The girl turned and looked at Alex. "Don't just stand there, get some help!" Alex was shocked to see a girl there. "Ghost and Spark, stay here and help her I'll be right back. What's wrong with him?" Alex asked. "He's bleeding to death, get help!" yelled the girl.

The trainer that had saved him earlier moved his eyes open. They were white all around it. A white glow started to dance around him, and the place where blood came out was healing. Alex could hear a bone crack inside the persons body, he heard him scream in pain through the white eyes. The door opened and Darry stepped in.

"What the hell happened in here?" he asked, and then spotted his brother on the floor. Darry leaned against the wall. "Oh god Charley," he said to himself. Darry went next to his brother getting his pants wet with toilet water and red blood.

Alex looked to the ceiling and saw smoke starting to form. "What's that?" he asked pointing. Darry turned to see the ceiling and was frozen for a moment shocked. He shook it away and yelled at Alex. "CALL YOUR POKEMON BACK NOW!" Alex was shocked by the sudden outbreak and returned his Pokémon.

Darry picked up Charley, which was kind of hard to imagine, and started to head to the door leaving the other two behind. "Don't follow, don't let any Pokémon get near him." With that said, he ran out of the restroom. Alex was still shocked; he turned his attention to the ceiling and saw the smoke start to form something.

"We got to get out of here now," said the girl, but Alex seemed to be hypnotized by the ghostly thing. "Damn it boy, listen to me! I've dealed with this thing before!" it started to form a face and Alex slipped down unable to move, too scared to move. Without warning, the girl started to drag Alex through the floor she pulled him to the other end where there was another door leading out. "Come-on, get up!" Alex had completely forgotten he dropped his Pokéballs.

The thing circled around his Sableye's Pokéball, surrounding it in a mist of grey. The Pokéball began to shake violently and after a few minutes, a soul-like mist that resembled Ghost came right out of it. The girl grabbed the Pokéball with the Jolteon in it and called it out.

"Jolt lt eon?" asked the Jolteon, but like Charley, the girl understood exactly what the Jolteon said. "What happened to him?"

"He can't move, that's what!" she yelled startling the Jolteon, "quick, Thundershock!"

"But"

"THUNDERSHOCK!"

Without a word, Zap gave out a Thundershock that shocked the whole room. "AH!" started yelling Alex. "Hurry, we got to get out of here, LOOK OUT!"

Too late, the smoke attacked Alex and pulled him to the ceiling, choking him. The girl and Zap could see Alex trying to breath and could do nothing but stare. Dark and grey smoke went around his neck and nose covering the wind from coming in. a bright light went through some of the smoke and around Alex. Then it let go.

Alex fell to the floor gasping for air, his Jolteon turned to fight the shadow, but in an instant, it disappeared. The girl, her name was Jenny, not really, but her human name. She didn't remember the rest of her life before, but after seeing the Jolteon try to fight back, she knew she met him before. The Pokémon that saved her life, when she was a Ninetales. And the young trainer that had just been choked, she knew it was too late. Alex had just been cursed.

* * *

Well, hope everyone enjoys this one, good night for now. –Yawns- 


	13. Into the Minds

Alright guys, this has more about the curse than any other Chapter, plus, the title to this one is the same as the title of the Fanfiction. In this Chapter, this story finally lives up to its name, enjoy and don't forget to read and review. ;)

**Chapter 13: Into the Minds**

_What's wrong with me? Am I going to die? I can't breath that good_, all of these thoughts just raced through Alex's mind. He was sitting with a hurt neck; he was almost crushed by something that wasn't even real. _What stopped it?_

Alex looked around and felt the cool water going all around his pants. In front of him were no more clouds but a Jolteon. For once, Alex looked at his hands. They had burn marks, probably from the Thundershock Spark had given him. They burned a little, but other than that it felt weak on him.

"Come-on, we got to get away from here. Do you have your room key?" the girl kept asking him questions, but Alex couldn't move. His body wouldn't let him. He felt like he was going to die, and he didn't care.

Spark walked next to him and took something from his pants. They were keys. He then went to the girl and dropped them with her. "Here you go," Spark said.

_What? Did Spark just say something?_

"Thank you, Zap," replied the girl. _That's not his name, what's going on?_, thought Alex, his brain was starting to hurt then from some sharp yell, Alex fell and started to cover his ears. Someone was screaming. Alex started to scream from the sudden yell too.

"ALEX," yelled his Jolteon. The girl got up and followed 'Zap' next to Alex. "What's wrong with him?" Alex's Jolteon asked. The girl sighed and stood right next to Alex.

"Alex, I need you to stop screaming," said the girl. He stopped, but the other scream kept going, it would stop and then he would hear grunts, or pleas, but then it would continue its crying. The girl sighed. "What are you hearing?" she asked.

Alex was a bit confused now. "You mean you can't hear the screaming?" the girl shook her head and got ready to talk. "Stop screaming, I'll tell you everything you need to know, but I need you to calm down."

The screaming somewhat stopped, now it was just sobbing noises. "Well, what happened?" asked the girl. Alex looked up at the girl. "Huh?"

"Is there still screaming?"

"Oh," said Alex, "no, I hear crying now." Sudden, in Alex's head, he heard someone say something so faint. "_I can feel the water…_" it said. The girl caught him looking like that and then asked. "What happened?"

Alex closed his eyes as the voice came back, but this time to _him_. "_Alex?_" it asked. Alex looked around himself. The restroom seemed like any ordinary broken restroom. One stall with a broken door was hanging with the toilet leaking, the walls to it seemed somewhat bent, and the waterworks were throwing water now while a mirror fell from its hanging place onto the floor, one piece flying out. "Yeah?" Alex finally replied to the voice.

"_Please_," it said, "_rub your hand on the floor._" Reluctantly, Alex started to rub the wet floor. He heard the voice start to get some fear, something was wrong with it.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl. Alex turned to answer, but the voice interrupted again. "_Alex, I need to see something_," it said, "_go stand next to that mirror._" Alex looked around and saw many mirrors on the side and two on the floor. "Any mirror?" asked Alex.

"What about a mirror?" asked the girl. The voice started to talk again, "_yes, please, I need to see something._"

Alex got up from the wet floor, his jean trainer pants were all soaked wet. He slowly walked to the mirror. He sighed and stood directly in front of it, not surprised. He saw himself, short brown hair, dark olive eyes, he saw just his reflection. There was a small moment of silence, and then the voice started to say something.

"_No_…" it said clearly. Alex stared awhile longer then turned to look at the girl shrugging. "_What are you doing? I need to see this!_" yelled the voice, and then continued with, "_sorry, I just need to see._" Alex continued looking at the mirror. Slowly he felt his body wanting to move. His arm wanted to go up, Alex pulled it down with his other hand but the left arm wouldn't stay put. Then a cry like from a scene from Star Wars broke out in Alex's mind. "Noooooooooooooooooo…"

The sink in front broke into pieces when the sound started, Alex fell on his back onto the wet floor again covering his ears, but the sound stayed at constant level. The walls behind him started to crack open, and then what Alex had always wondered what happened with Charley, his eyes went white.

Alex picked himself up as soon as the 'no' stopped and looked at Spark. "So they call you Zap?" Alex asked trying to smile and keep the sobbing noise away from him.

"Uh, yeah," said Zap, but Alex didn't react like expected. Instead, once Zap spoke, Alex tripped and fell back. The girl walked next to him, but Alex pulled away. He turned to face her with his shirt completely wet with toilet water. "Sorry, I'm not used to hearing Pokémon talk yet."

The girl looked at the door and walked to it. She opened it just a crack while Alex's eyes were glowing white and then normal. "I got to go, Charley's brother has no idea what he's gotten himself into." She then left and the door closed behind her.

"_Wait, what about me!_" yelled the voice in Alex's head. Alex talked back to it. "We don't even know who you are!"

"_It's me, GHOST!_" yelled Ghost. Alex walked back. _Who did he say he was?_, thought Alex.

"What's wrong," cut in Zap still confused about the whole scenario that just happened. Alex shook his head and still uncomfortable about hearing his Pokémon talk, started to leave. "Come-on, Zap. We need to find Charley and Darry; they're probably the closest we'll get to finding someone that's dealled with a problem like this."

Alex was about to leave, but Zap got in his way. "That girl," Zap started, "she knew my name." Alex gave a little confused glance. "So?" Alex asked.

"So, I never told her what my name was, she just knew. She knew what you're name was too-," said Zap. Alex found a fault in what Zap said. "But, you yelled my name before she could say it. She must've heard you and pointed out the obvious." Zap grunted at his trainer's reply. "That still doesn't explain how she knew my name."

Alex opened the door of the restroom and motioned for his Pokémon to follow. "Come-on, if anyone's goanna help us and _can_ help us, it should be that other guy, Charley."

"_What's wrong with me?_" asked Ghost, "_I'm not supposed to be human, but here I am in a human body…_" Alex shrugged at his Pokémon stuck inside his head. "I don't know, Ghost, but we'll find a way to separate ourselves eventually. In meantime, we got to find out about this curse, and there's only one person I can think of on this ship that has any experience with the curse: Charley… uh… what's his last name?"

Zap sighed and tried to understand them both; he could only hear Alex talk.

"_But what will happen to me?_" asked Ghost, "_how long will I be stuck in this body, what will happen? I can't move anything, it's as if you're the movement and I'm the brain. I want my body back… I don't care how, I want it!_" Alex tried to calm down the Sableye mind he had, but Ghost refused to stop. "_No Alex, I don't want to live in this body any longer than four minutes. I can't live like this; I want to get out now!_"

Alex fell onto his knees again getting wet, even though there was no possible way to get wetter than he was already. The door closed and Alex looked like he had pain all over him.

"Well what do you plan to do then, Ghost? The only thing we can do now is get help, now let's go. Zap, come-on." Zap walked over to Alex and got ready to leave.

"_No,_" said Ghost, "_I will **not **be letting myself go like this. I can't be like this; I want my old body back!_" Alex fell and lay down next to Zap in pain. Zap got near him and saw his eyes begin to glow white. They started glowing too bright. The stall walls started to fall to the _ceiling_.

"Alex," Zap started, "what are you doing?"

_SNAP SNAP SNAP!_

The ground started to break open. Zap stepped away as the room below him broke away from each other. Zap heard Babies and small children start to cry. The room below was a Day-Care for babies and Pokémon. A Squirtle from below started to point at Zap, who was clearly visible through the gash on the floor. The Pokémon started yelling and babies kept crying as the Day-Care employees' got them out and immediately called the Captain as water cascaded through. Zap completely forgot about Alex, when he looked, he gasped.

Alex was literally on the wall acting like he was having some kind of exorcism. His white glowing eyes made it seem more horrifying. Light went all around him as he moaned, and then it covered his mouth.

"Alex, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" yelled Zap in disbelief at what he saw. Alex floated away from the wall shaking and trying to yell through the light but mumbling instead. He was pushed to the other wall and there he fell to the ground with the light completely engulfed around him. Then another flash came and slightly blinded Zap, then disappeared, and right where Alex was laying, laid a small Sableye, looking extremely tired with its back jewels showing off through the limp clothing of Alex.

"A-Alex?" started Zap, "Are you okay?" Alex didn't respond, instead, his jewel like eyes started to glow, and he slowly picked himself up, climbing out of the clothes. He looked around the room, then at his hands; he looked all over his body then bended down and spit out blood.

"Alex?" asked Zap. The Sableye looked at him and smiled. "No, Ghost." He said, then cheered at having the body.

Zap wasn't cheering just yet. "So, what happened to Alex?"

As if on cue, Ghost heard something in his head. "_Uh, wha-what happened to me!_" he yelled. Ghost sighed. "Well, now you know how I felt. It feels really strange, doesn't it? Look, watch this; tell me if you feel it." Ghost kneeled down and touched the water. A click went on with Alex. "_Oh my god, I-I felt that!_"

A few seconds later, two trainers entered the restroom; the side Ghost and Alex were on. "Holy sh" started a trainer seeing the place, but was interrupted by the other trainer. "Hey, look at these Pokémon!"

"Best not interact with them, eh Ghost?" said Zap. Ghost nodded, "I couldn't agree with you more." Alex interrupted (although only Ghost could hear him) "_why not? They can help us find Charley! I know Ghost doesn't want to be me, and I'm not enjoying it on this side either, so come-on, we can ask for help!_"

Ghost laughed. "You realize you referred to me in third person when _I'm_ the only one that can hear you, right?" since no one could see Alex's face right now, he yet a blush go by him.

One of the trainers walked up to Zap. "Hey little man, where's your owner?" Zap turned his head like he didn't know what he was talking about. Just then, an employee ran through the door on Zap's side, looked at the two trainers and the Pokémon next to them, and then put two and two together.

"YOU TWO HAD A POKEMON BATTLE IN THE RESTROOM!" yelled the employee. With everything basically broken, it seemed reasonable that they did. Two more employees came and saw the mess. "Bring Pokémon cages," said the one that had yelled.

The two trainers tried to explain, but the man wouldn't let them. "No, you two will explain everything when you talk with the captain. Too bad both of you broke the rules, now your Pokémon will be taken back to Slateport and released to the wild." The trainers looked terrified as they were dragged out of the room and the other two with cages came in. they grabbed Zap with ease.

"_What are you doing Zap!_" yelled Alex, "_Ghost, ask him what he's doing!_" Ghost turned to Zap, "Alex says what you're doing getting caught by employees."

Zap was put in the cage. "If they were to take me back to Slateport, they'd have to turn this ship around. I don't think they're willing to do that." Zap replied almost sure of it. Ghost was picked up and was being put in a cage, while in his mind Alex kept screaming. "_No, let us go, what are you waiting for Ghost, fight back! Do something!_"

"Relax," said Ghost, "Zap's right, what do we have to worry about? They wouldn't turn this ship around."

Alex seemed to get frustrated in Ghost's mind. "_HAVE YOU NOT BEEN LISTENING TO TECHNOLEGY FOR THE PAST TWENTY YEARS!_" Alex yelled, "_They have a Pokéball teleportation system, if they can't find a Pokéball they'll make a new Pokéball for you to send through teleportation! It's the way of the future Ghost!_"

This got to Ghost, and now he was wondering if what Zap and himself were doing was good, or wrong. They were carried out of the restroom and down the hall to get to the captain's room.

* * *

Well, how'd ya like the chapter? Oh, and I noticed that in chapter two, Zap never told the Ninetales his name, but you'll see why she knows later. 


	14. Power Outage

I've just noticed that most of the hits are in the latest chapters, I'm figuring someone just doesn't have the time to read this or people just skip to the last chapter to see how this is like more into the story. Since it's common for the second one to happen, I'm goanna put a brief summary about what's been happening up till this moment.

**_Story so far…_** (deltora ish.:P)

Charley's curse has been following him for a long time, but now it wants a big revenge on him. Meanwhile he's chased, Zap, a Jolteon, was taking guard for his family, a wife and his only child, when he was attacked by a Ninetales.

After a brutal small battle, he returned to find his daughter missing, and his wife extremely weak. He rushed with his wife to try and help her, but was caught by a trainer. Feeling like he failed himself, he joined the trainer on his journey. The trainer Alex was given a ticket for the _S.S. Tidal_ to see his uncle and get a new bike.

Charley was accompanying Darry on the trip to the Battle Frontier on the magnificent ship, the _S.S. Tidal_. When they arrived, Darry accepted a Pokémon Battle from a girl named Jill. Meanwhile, Charley waited for Darry. His patients went away, and he decided to look for him.

Charley felt sick and went to the bathroom, but encountered the curse, which took him to another dimension. A girl named Nini, or what she called herself, Jenny, saved him and they both transported back to the _S.S. Tidal_.

Charley was able to heal himself, and was taken back to his room by Darry. Alex, who had witnessed the attack, was stricken with a feeling that wouldn't yet him move. The curse attacked Alex and Alex got cursed and fused with his mind and his Sableye's mind. He wanted answers, so he decided to see Charley, but wasn't quick enough as the curse took over more and turned him into a Sableye.

Now his Sableye is in control and was captured along with Zap by the ship employee's. They were taken away, and now Darry is about to go get some answers in this chapter, from someone that he doesn't know, but who knows him more…

**Chapter 14: Power Outage**

Darry exited the broken restroom with his brother Charley in his arms. There were people that started to look at him, but he wasn't paying attention to them. Charley's eyes stopped with the glowing and Darry continued to run with him down the hall. He wasn't going to the little Pokémon Center at the end; he passed it and continued running. There was the hallway that led to their rooms. Darry ran through the people without saying anything and used the keys to enter his room.

It was exactly like how he left it. There were the nice stunning symbols that were just there to make the room more 'perfect'. Darry ran into one of the bedrooms and laid Charley down; he had just finished healing from a wound that Darry had no idea of where he got it in the first place.

"Charley," started Darry, "are you alright?"

Charley still had an opening from the wound, but it had healed more since he last saw it five minutes ago. Then came a knock on his door.

Darry turned and looked at the door and stared for a few seconds in the open doorway and the knock came again. He walked through the door and into the main suite. The knock continued once more and Darry went over to open it.

Outside his door was Jill. Darry was a bit surprised to see her (he was surprised to see anyone at a time like this). "Can I come in?" she asked. Darry nodded and got out of the way. She came in and saw Charley lying on the bed in the other room. She turned around to face Darry. "So, what were you doing with your friend over there?"

"Huh?" Darry asked. He was a little confused that she came just to talk about his brother; it was OK, but surprising since not many people wondered before.

"you just ran pass me with your brother," said Jill, "seeing as you were both wet, I can only wonder what happen."

Darry sighed. He thought it was something else, he knew he could trust Jill though. For some reason, he felt like he knew who she was. He put that aside and started to think up an excuse for being wet.

"Well," he started, "Charley slipped on a wet floor above the north deck, so I brought him back so he could rest." Darry smiled and hoped Jill would believe him.

Jill stared at Darry for a moment. "You realize that we just battled about ten minutes ago, and we're in the _south _deck, right? That would mean you walked all the way to the northern deck, got your brother during the small power out, and brought him back here in less than ten minutes with both of you wet. I find that _real _hard to believe, is that what happened?"

Darry tried to look for an excuse, but Charley (who had amazingly been able to walk over to them) came into the room and interrupted. "Darry," he started, "th-there's a girl on this ship, without a ticket." Charley walked over to the small couch and sat there. He pulled his feet up to lay them over the couch and lay down to rest. "And in five minutes, she's going to come in through that door." Charley pointed to the front door of the suite.

Darry and Jill looked at the door. It was silent after about thirty seconds, and then Jill started talking. "Okay, seriously, you two are hiding something that is a secret. I'll stay away if it's that personal, but it's kind of hard when you pass someone that almost seemed near death and do nothing about it. I guess I'll see you two around later."

Without a word from Darry, Jill walked to the door. She opened the door and was surprised to see someone just come in. Darry acted with the same surprise while Charley did a 'didn't seem to notice' act.

The girl went right next to Darry and looked him in the eye. "Darry," she started, "I need to talk to you." She immediately turned to Jill, "Don't eavesdrop, Jill."

Jill was surprised again that she knew her name. Before she could say anything about it, the girl pulled Darry into the other room.

"Don't worry," said Charley, "they're just goanna talk non-stop about the curse I have, and-an…" Charley's eyes opened wide. He shot up from the couch and started to run for the door.

"What's wrong?" asked Jill. Charley opened the door and stared at Jill. He seemed to hesitate on telling her what was wrong. He put his head down. "I can't tell you…" after that, he left the doorway and closed the door.

"Whoa, wait Charley!" yelled Jill and followed him out the door.

* * *

The girl sat down on the bed. "Get a chair," she started, "this is goanna be a long talk."

Darry listened and grabbed the desk chair in the corner of the room and sat putting it backwards and sitting with his legs pulled around the back of the chair and resting his head on the headstand. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Okay, there are two ways of saying this, which do you want to hear, the first or second version?" she asked.

Darry thought for a moment. "The short one," he replied.

The girl sighed and then started talking. "Okay, my name is Nini, just call me Jenny though. I was also cursed awhile back." Darry started to listen more closely on this. "I was with my family; I was a house pet for a family in Fortree City. One day when I was minding my own business, a Donphan appeared in the area. My trainer and I both thought that it escaped the Safari Zone after the event, but during the event I was the only one around. I fell for its trick; I heard it talk human language. At first it was speaking its native language, but then after I paid more attention, it just attacked me. You can guess the rest considering it happened to your brother, right?"

Darry nodded and remembered what Charley had said to him a few days after his 'suicide'. "So, you're a Pokémon?" Darry asked.

Nini, or Jenny, whatever her name was, nodded her head in approval. Darry turned the chair over and sat in a sitting position, then slumped down in it like he was sulking. "Well, I'm guessing your trainer didn't survive the curse."

"No, she survived," said Nini, "it's me that didn't." Darry got a confused face now. Nini turned away. "Yeah, I know, don't go to sleep, but it's kind of hard not to when it's three in the morning and you're the one in charge of the movements. I had the same dreams that any normal human would with this curse, when I was in Pokémon form. Just like any human would, I got scared and felt bad with the images. When I awoke, the curse worked. My trainer woke up tired in my mind while I dragged the death weapon from the bushes. I assume you know about that gun, right?"

Darry nodded again and remembered being in the Team Rocket Headquarters, the books on the curse's so called 'myth'. According to the book, the weapon that a Pokémorph used to kill the one being that caused the curse was used as the death caller. It was a shotgun with Pokéballs engraved on either ends of the guns and supposedly had infinite shots. After having the death dream, the gun would appear in an easy to find place giving you one option: suicide. It was the only way to save the person in your mind, mostly it happened to humans but it was possible that it happens to Pokémon too. This part is what made the 'myth' a myth. There were no such things as human when it happened, and the Pokémorph had taken human form while attacking. Plus, there were no such things as shotguns or Pokéballs back then, but somehow Darry knew it was true. There were other versions of the story where it wasn't a Pokémorph, but a human. Some said that another Pokémon had come to help him or her when it refused to kill what it wanted to kill. But they all end the same: the human or Pokémon or Pokémorph kills the legendary, and disappears in a ball of light from behind him or her leaving his or her weapon left behind.

"Yeah, I know about it," replied Darry.

Nini got to the edge of the bed and sat there. She looked into her hands with a sad face then continued her story.

"Well, the curse took over and I got the gun from the bushes. I put it against the tree and got my head in the way of the shot. With my paws, I tried to pull the trigger, the first three times were unsuccessful, but I got it done, and died. I awoke to find myself in human form. I wasn't in heaven with the Pokégods, and I wasn't in hell with the Pokédevils. I was where the Donphan had cursed me. It was the curses second chance. This is where no one was able to pass; they would all die and be apart of the curse's victim. But I found a way out."

Darry stopped slouching. "A way other than cursing someone else?" he asked.

Nini nodded again. "Yes, but unfortunately I found it after getting caught by Team Rocket and doing some dirty work. After they found out who I was, they started to treat me nicer. They treated me like family. It wasn't until I was running for my life away from them that I realized they just wanted me because I had a connection to the ancient myth they thought and knew was true. I ran as fast as I could in my new human form, in my dreams, I saw that thing about passing down the curse, I didn't want to do it, but I knew I wanted to be myself again. I was able to meet up with my trainer soon; we both looked exactly a-like. This was the biggest mistake I could have ever done. The curse came back for me; it was trying to _kill_ me. Each day for a couple of weeks with my trainer, I was attacked. It wasn't until one day, an ex-Rocket member decided to help me. He took me to his son, I was supposed to go alone, but my trainer followed me. When I arrived at the ex-Rocket's son's house, I found out that he was some kind of ritual believer. He believed he could make a potion for the curse to slow its hunt down. We worked for three days straight on that potion, but the curse had found us. It cursed the ex-Rocket, the last thing he told us to do was to drink the potion, before he killed himself. Not with the gun, he slashed his neck with a knife. We drank it, and yes, the curse couldn't touch us, but it had a bad outcome."

Darry looked down at his feet and sighed. "What? What can be worse than being cursed?"

"Well, there was only one bottle for both of us, but not enough inside them," said Nini, trying to remember the day. "I told Jenny, my trainer, to drink the potion. Better her alive than me. The curse had gotten me when she was drinking; it slowly walked up to jenny, and then easily threw her across the room to me. We were both cursed again, but since my trainer drank the potion, she was already untouchable. The curse couldn't touch us; we were hoping it couldn't change us either. Well, the potion took care of that. When I was in her mind, I saw her leave her body. Now I was in the mind of a ghost, staring down at the body of my trainer on the floor. The potion, not the curse, then changed us to my Pokémon form. This potion worked differently from the curse, as soon as I was back in my Ninetales's body, I was still pushed behind my mind. My trainer was in control, not me. We soon discovered in a book that this potion took you in the mind of a Pokémon, away from your own mind, and let you control it until death. This is why the ex-Rocket wanted us to drink it, the curse couldn't destroy its own curse, and this potion _was_ its own curse. A day went by and we still couldn't change back, but that wasn't the worst, my trainer suddenly became more violent. I thought it was just the instincts, but my instincts weren't like that. Soon my trainer was attacking humans for fun. I tried to talk her out of it, but she had literally lost her mind. She wasn't the person I once knew. I tried to remember what the book said about this potion, and found out that there was only one way to stop her: death. I didn't know what to do; I was a mind, a helpless mind. Well, the pictures of our minds were always separate, so I found out that she didn't know I was remembering. I fooled her into trying to kill herself, when she found out it was a trick, she wanted to kill _me_. A trainer was looking for a fight, I thought my trainer would just fight and leave, but she _let_ him capture her. After that, she gave him hell. I could do nothing but watch. Soon, she started to talk with the trainer, and unbelievingly, he understood after the first three days! She made him do _her_ dirty work. Until one night, she just told him to take her to Mt. Chimney. I didn't know what she planned, but whatever it was, I could tell it wasn't good. As we reached Mt. Chimney, I realized that she was planning to use the spiritual rocks there to get rid of me forever! I tried to fight back, but nothing helped. The only thing that could save me then, was a miracle, and that's exactly what happened."

"What?" asked Darry, "so, what happened to your trainer?"

"I'm getting there," replied Nini, "look, when all seemed lost, a curious Jolteon came out of nowhere and started to ask questions. They were extremely rare, so I don't know what was in his mind when he decided to walk in front of a trainer. My trainer got mad and fought him. It was a short battle, and in the end, my trainer couldn't hold and died. Her spirit ran out and I could have sworn I heard a thanks from it, and she returned to where she was transformed. I know she did because after she left my body, I took control again. It was only for a short time, but I was able to thank the Jolteon before I was dead. Yes, I died, but I was taken to the curse's holding place. I really thought I lost, but I kept getting these visions. I was seeing me here on this ship once too, I saw my trainer at the hospital hugging her family, and I saw this conversation we're having right now. After three hours, I couldn't take it anymore. I went away from the hold I was in, I _broke _away from it. I was able to find these." Nini pulled out two small orbs from her pocket.

Darry looked at them. "What are they?" he asked. The two small orbs started to glow, one went blue, and the other went red. "Are they by any chance the Groudon and Kyogre orbs?"

Nini shook her head. "No, if you noticed, those orbs are three times these orbs's size. What these orbs do, is what the curse does, except this works reverse. It's like a cure for it, but it also has a downfall."

"What's the bad part?" asked Darry leaning closer to Nini.

"Well, look at me," she said pointing to her body, "this is the work of the curse, and it almost reached my trainer. I stopped it by using these orbs, the downfall now is that I'm a twin of my trainer until I'm dead. In other words, I'm goanna be a human for the rest of my life, an identical human to another, with the same finger prints. These orbs," she said raising them to eye level, "are what will finally stop the curse. I'm not really cursed anymore, sure the curse will go after me, sure I still have some powers, but I'm not on the curse's 'to kill' list anymore. I beat it, and when I saw your brother fighting, I knew he was cursed. I'm hoping to cure him with these orbs."

"But what are the side-effects," asked Darry, "I mean, does he become a Pokémon or something?"

"Only if the Pokémon he was fused with before is still alive," said Nini, "look, these orbs can cure him and stop the curse, what we need to do is try and use them on your brother to cure him for good. This one protects him," she raised the red orb, "and this one decreases the chances of him getting more cursed than he is," she raised the blue one. "Now we have a problem, if he is near another cursed person by at least a twenty mile diameter, or near the curse in the twenty mile diameter, he could be either transformed into a Pokémon for eternity, in other words live for ever like the legendaries, or killed, and even worse."

"Worse?" asked Darry. Nini nodded. "Okay, worse than death, got it. So we just need to give these to him when he's away from the curse, and since the curse is here, we can't do that here. Plus, there's a cave that is at the Battle Frontier that said in a book I read keeps all evil spirits away, so we just need to wait until we reach the Battle Frontier, right?"

"Wrong," replied Nini, "the reason is because someone else on this ship is cursed. The cave, yes I heard that it keeps spirits away, but he isn't a spirit. A boy was cursed on this ship, Darry. We're goanna have to wait until another time. Plus, the orbs start to work when the victim sees them; we need him out of the orbs sight at all times." She put the orbs back in her pocket. "What the curse would want to do right now, is find Charley, and kill him. We need him on our sight at all times, like monitoring a baby. So, let's find out how Charley is doing." She started to walk to the closed door.

"Wait," started Darry, "I need to know something first, how do you know everybody's names?"

Nini smiled at this. "Well," she started, "I told you about my visions, right? The reason is because I've already seen myself talk to you and everyone I know in my visions." A sudden notice went by Nini after she said that. "Oh, no…" she said.

"What," asked Darry, "what happened?"

Nini opened the door to find that Charley and Jill were not there.

"Oh shit!" yelled Darry, "come-on, we've got to find them!" right when he said that, the lights turned off in the room, and yells of annoyance, screams, and horror rang in the crowd outside.


	15. Elevated

Okay, I'm goanna try and fix up chapters 2 through 8 soon, hope you enjoy this next chapter.:)

**Chapter 15: Elevated**

The cage holding Ghost and Alex swayed by the employee back and forth, Zap just tried to keep still in his which was somewhat swaying but kept at a good balance for him to sit in. Meanwhile, Ghost was talking to Alex. He kept trying to be silent, it seemed like he was debating over something with Alex, but without being cursed or in their minds, Zap was useless in understanding what they were talking about.

Within a few minutes of being taken down a hallway not as crowded as the others, the employees opened a locked door. Inside the room were three other Pokémon resting inside similar cages. There was a Smeargle, a Houndour, and an Umbreon. They looked like they didn't really care where they were for awhile, then lit up and started barking their native language at the employees.

Zap clearly heard what they were saying, and he could tell Alex did too by the way Ghost started to talk. "Calm down, this is normal manners for Pokémon," Ghost said. Zap could easily tell that he was talking to Alex; who else would he talk to?

The Pokémon in the cages were swearing at the employees for putting them there; probably the reason Alex was surprised.

"Well," started Ghost again in a conversation with Alex, "normal as in being locked up."

The employee holding Zap's cage put him in-between the Houndour and Umbreon. The other with Alex and Ghost walked passed the now four four-legged like creatures and put them in a small area near the back, alone and away from the other Pokémon.

The employee put the cage down and walked back to the door with his friend and left, closing the door behind them.

Zap sighed and rested inside his cage. He tried to think of something to concentrate on, but nothing clicked. He hadn't been with a trainer long enough to try to remember something, he could only remember what happened before…

Zap closed his eyes and tried not to think about the events from the past, he wanted to be going forward, not keep remembering something he failed to do before he was a trainer's Pokémon.

"So," started the Houndour, "what's the story behind him?"

Zap turned and looked at the Houndour. "Huh?" he asked a bit confused and getting back into the present time.

The female Umbreon gestured with its head, "he's talking about your friend over there, the one that keeps talking to himself."

Zap turned to the location of where she pointed and saw the Sableye, Ghost, still talking to himself. He was talking to Alex telling him he couldn't use his Pokémon powers. Zap didn't blame him; neither he nor any of the Pokémon in that room could use their powers when they were in the cages. The cages were keeping them from using any type of powers, leaving them to only use normal attacks like growl or tackle.

"Oh," said Zap, "well, it's kind of a long story… no wait, actually, it's pretty short. He's talking to his trainer, my trainer, who is inside his head right now trying to get away from some strange ghost Pokémon's curse. I personally saw it happen, that was a strange Pokémon that I have to admit, never seen before."

That was a short explanation, but not enough to fully admit to the Pokémon that Zap was telling the truth.

"Whatever," replied the Smeargle that was across the other three Pokémon in the room. It was leaning against the back side of the cage with its artistic tail swinging around in front of it.

"Fine," said Zap, "there's no reason for you guys to believe me."

The Pokémon continued to be quiet for about a minute until Ghost broke the silence. "Alex wants to know why everyone's quiet."

The male Houndour raised its head off of a resting position. "And you couldn't tell him yourself, or are you just curious?" the Houndour's remark didn't sound like a question, but more like a statement.

"Too tired," said Ghost, "it's because their too tired. If someone was to come in right now, we'd be glad to have company, but right now it's just dull to even talk here."

It was quiet for about five minutes straight, no one talked. The lights started to flicker, but none of the Pokémon reacted to them. After a few seconds, the lights went off the room, but there was still no one reacting to it. Even Zap didn't react to it. It was still the same silence for ten more minutes, until the silence was finally broken.

"_Man_," started Alex, "_what do you guys DO for a living, Ghost? Can't you use your powers to get out?_"

All the Pokémon in the room, including Ghost, replied, "No."

Then Zap came to a sudden realization. "Wait," started Zap, "did everyone just hear Alex say something?"

"What?" asked the Umbreon. She turned and looked at Ghost. "You mean your friend?"

"Well," started Zap, "sort of, hey, Ghost!"

Ghost looked at Zap from his cage. He stopped slouching with his back against the cage's hard metal wire and stared at Zap intently. "What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow over the jewel eyes with a look of confusion.

"Was that you that asked and answered your own question just right now?" asked Zap.

"Huh?"

"Was that you that just asked yourself third person style about what you do for a living and asking us the same question?"

Ghost went into more confusion. "Do for a living, what? Alex just asked that question right now in my head…"

"Ghost," said Zap, "we all heard Alex say something. Alex, say something else." There was silence for six seconds straight. "You happy now?" asked Ghost.

"Did he say anything?" asked Zap. The other Pokémon started to stare at the two Pokémon talking to each other.

"Yes," replied Ghost, "he did."

Zap went back to resting and sighed. _There can't be a way we all heard him, right?_, he asked himself. There was a small silence again until Ghost broke it by yet again talking to Alex.

"What are you saying?" Ghost asked himself. He waited for a reply and after a few seconds, started to talk again. "Okay, but I don't see how that will help."

Instead of asking, Zap just waited to see what they were up to. Ghost rested on the floor of the cage and seemed to be trying to sleep. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Ghost said to himself. He started resting more; it was like he was getting ready for a good night's sleep. Zap was still a bit confused about what Ghost was doing, but decided not to ask.

A few minutes passed and nothing really happened, Ghost was still on the cage ground and Zap already lost interest in what they were doing. It was taking awhile longer, until a mist started to form around Ghost.

It came all around Ghost's body, and then it went outside of the cage. The mist started to form upwards, it was making something. By then, Zap, Houndour, Umbreon, and Smeargle were looking at the mist. It made a human body, and them it formed only Alex's top half in grayish smoke.

Alex looked at his hands in shock; smoke cascaded everywhere, he was grey spirit. He wasn't wearing anything to cover his top part (his clothes fell off in the bathroom). There was ghostly skin to cover the rest of his body. Still, smoke was flowing around his waist-line covering the bottom half. Alex was transparent; Zap and the other Pokémon were shocked at seeing him standing right there.

"_Wow_," Alex said to himself. It sounded more like an echo. He was looking at his back hand. He stepped back and he moved leaving shades of himself behind, then they dissolved into the air.

The only person in the room that _wasn't _shocked was Ghost; he was still on the cage floor lying down like he was asleep. He probably had no idea what was happening right now.

Alex was still just a shadowy figure standing with his bottom half not formed. He tried to move and swung forward making small smoke clouds fly around. "_Ouch_," he said to himself and started standing up.

The Pokémon in the room started shouting at Alex's ghost. It wasn't really helping him since Ghost started to lose concentration and Alex started to dissolve and appear.

SLAM! Someone slammed against the door and startled everyone in the room. The slam came again and due to losing concentration, Alex started to disappear. SLAM! The door burst open and Charley came in breathing heavily. He looked up and saw Alex dissolving. After a few seconds, Alex disappeared into Ghost. A Sneasel followed after Charley. The female Sneasel looked at Ghost still somewhat asleep and started to rush to him, until Charley stopped her.

"Hold on," he said. Charley was a little bit hurt on his side, he was bleeding. He took a step towards Ghost.

"Hey, who're you?" "What are you doing here?" "You could get in trouble doing that you know!" the Pokémon except for Zap were yelling at Charley for breaking in. Charley ignored them like any other human would and slowly continued his walk up to Ghost.

"Check the walls," Charley told the Sneasel, and she did exactly that looking for something.

"Anything I should be looking for?" asked the Sneasel. She was still looking around behind the Pokémon cages as they barked at her.

"Yeah," answered Charley, "if you find a gun, use your Faint Attack to destroy it."

Charley turned back to the Sableye and looked into its eyes. He opened the cage and crawled under to put his hand in and drag Ghost out, the Pokémon continued to yell at him and asking to get _them _out and doing the same with Sneasel.

Charley continued his stare, and slowly put his hand on Ghost's head, and then his eyes started to glow…

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Earlier

* * *

**

Jill closed the door behind her and ran to Charley who was now walking fast through the crowd. She caught up running and bumping into people as she passed and stopped in front of Charley.

"Stop," she started, catching her breath, "what do you mean about the curse you have?"

This stopped Charley for awhile. He forgot that telling people about his curse was bad, and he just told Jill a few seconds ago that he had a curse.

"It's better if you don't know," Charley replied, and then continued walking.

That didn't stop Jill, instead, she continued following him looking for a straight answer. Charley knew it was just curiosity overcoming her; he would've acted the same if that wasn't happening to him, but it was getting kind of annoying.

"Alright," said Jill assertively, "just tell me where you plan to go."

Charley walked to the middle of the area and saw the restroom, an employee was taking two trainers by the hand away, and a few seconds later, two other employees came out with Pokémon inside cages. In one of them, was a Sableye, in the other, was a Jolteon.

Charley covered his head as if it hurt, and his eyes started to glow white in public. Jill was watching right in front of him.

"Charley," started Jill, "what's going on with you?"

Employees were starting to guard the restroom door, but Charley could still see through it. He saw the floor ripped open and water leaking down to the room below. The rest of the room was broken to bits.

Charley turned to see the employees with the Pokémon go down a hall and turn. Charley followed after them breaking into a run.

"Wait! Charley!" yelled Jill, "come back!" she ran after Charley through the crowd of people and into the grayish hall the employees he was following went to. Charley was just ahead, and turned at the turn that the Employees had turned. Jill made that same turn, and saw Charley looking down an endless hall with many doors and no sign of Employees.

"What are you looking for?" asked Jill. She was panting from the run she just did with Charley.

Charley didn't answer. His body started to glow white; his eyes also became that color. He turned around and Jill fell screaming at Charley. There was nothing in his eyes. Charley looked at the door Jill was next to.

"LOOK OUT!" he yelled, then grabbed Jill's arm and pulled her just as the door blasted out and into the other door on its opposite. A smoke-like liquid flowed out of the door; it started to form around filling the room up.

"Come-on," started Charley, he pulled Jill the other way, "let's go!"

Jill followed as Charley's eyes started to return to normal. Jill wasn't really running, but Charley still pulled her. He knew what it was and Jill didn't. Charley pulled open a door that was already halfway open and pushed Jill in with him following afterwards.

Charley leaned against the door and looked around the room. It was a storage room where there was janitor tools in one side and in the other were just luggage from passengers.

"What _is_ that thing!" yelled Jill still a bit frightened at what she saw in the halls. Charley knew he couldn't hide it anymore; Jill had already seen something out of the ordinary.

Charley regained his breath and was getting ready to talk. "It—" suddenly, the liquid smoke broke through the sides of the door and wrapped around Charley. He was slammed against the hard door and picked off the ground to be attacked by the smoke hands in the ceiling.

Jill fell terrified to the ground and saw Charley in the air, not doing anything due to shock. The smoke pushed Charley to the floor and started to go into his mouth, then up his nostrils, all the time Jill just watched in fear.

Jill got one of the bags there and started swinging at the smoke, but it just tore apart then reformed.

_I've got it_, she thought, and got one of her Pokéballs out. "Go, Sneasel!" she yelled, and the small 2'10" creature formed in front of her. The smoke stopped attacking Charley and turned its attention to Jill.

Jill flinched and was filled with a terror inside her. The smoke leaped for her.

"No!" yelled Charley just getting off the ground, and the smoke attacked Jill pushing her back and aimed for Sneasel. A smoke arm reached out for the small Sneasel, and just a few feet away, the Sneasel stopped it with its claws grabbing the smoke pieces with strength.

Of coarse Jill was going to use Sneasel, the Sneasel was a dark type and this smoke was like a ghost, technically the curse was a ghost type Pokémon.

"Leave them alone!" yelled Charley. The curse wrapped around the Sneasel, but it kept clawing out of its grasp.

"I said," Charley continued, "LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

Charley's eyes started to glow again and he jumped right at the Smoke making an open tare. The smoke stopped trying to attack the little Sneasel and grabbed Charley to throw him across the room.

"Charley!" yelled Jill. The smoke pushed him right next to a wall. Charley looked at the wall and his eyes glowed whiter. An opening appeared and both Charley and the curse flew through it. Charley had used faint attack to escape being hit by concrete, and was hit by a steel bar from the _S.S. Tidal_'s elevator railing.

Charley fell onto the elevator two feet below him and almost slipped off the side, but grabbed on tightly. The bottom was four floors away, he quickly pulled himself up and was standing right next to the curse, ready to attack him with everything it had.


	16. Amy

Fresh new Chapter! lol, spork...XD  
-updates-

**Chapter 16: Amy**

Charley tried to see the spirit floating in front of him, he couldn't stand right because his leg was hurting from the fall and he had a major headache now.

The curse circled Charley with its ghostly features flying around him. Charley didn't have any move to make; he was stuck standing on the edge of an elevator. The grey liquid-like smoke circled even more getting Charley's space tighter. A noise came from under the elevator, but Charley didn't pay any real attention to it, he only concentrated on what he was going to do to get out of his situation.

A shaft from under Charley opened and two Pokémon came rushing out.

"Sneasel!" yelled a familiar voice from below the shaft, "get that thing away from Charley! Furret, bring Charley down here!"

"Jill?" yelled Charley, "is that you?"

"Yes," replied the voice from below, "Charley, follow Furret!"

By then, the curse had been all over the elevator blocking all sight from everywhere. Charley couldn't see anything from his point of view; he just saw dark grayish smoke everywhere in the small elevator shaft rooms. He noticed a Furret down brushing against his feet.

"Jill!" yelled Charley, "call your Pokémon back!"

There was no response. Instead, Charley heard the sound of something jumping down into the elevator he was standing on and heard the cries of a female voice screaming "Jill" and the coldness of Ice Beams being thrown inside the elevator.

Charley saw Furret disappear into the small elevator shaft that was nearly invisible from the curse, and jumped down to follow as the curse almost struck him.

The little room shook when Charley landed, when he turned around, he saw Jill against the wall of the elevator being hold down while the two other Pokémon were struggling now to get near Jill and to free themselves from the smoke that now covered them. The elevator door was opened and led to a hallway with another door that read "stairs" open.

_That's probably how they got to me_, thought Charley, and then ran right at Jill and started to concentrate on saving the three there.

SLAM! The smoke closed the elevator doors shut hard together to make sure that no one got away.

Charley ignored that and continued his concentration and then grabbed Jill from the wall and pulled her to him. She landed on his shoulders and Charley turned with the bright light showing from his eyes to see that the Sneasel was started to get weary and was close to fainting right on the spot.

_No!_

Charley put Jill down and before the curse could consume the Sneasel, he looked up and with his eyes glowing the brightest now, made a yellowish stream come out of his hands and mouth and pointed up. The beam shot upwards and broke the entire top of the elevator making debris fly all around him with darkness taking over from no ceiling light, and finally hit the top.

The elevator shook. Charley's eyes came back to normal and saw that he had made a hole in the top deck of the boat.

The lights outside started to flicker with the light and yellow beams shooting up through the middle of the ship. After a few seconds, row by row the lights of the ship from front to back started to shut down.

Back in the elevator, the Sneasel started to awake from its tiredness that overcame it just a few moments before. Her name was Amy, and she felt herself almost dead. There was nothing to explain what had just happened, the feeling she felt, but she shook the feeling away as the smoke started to come back for another round.

Charley was tending to her trainer, but she didn't know who he was…

The elevator shook again, and then made a rough fall. Charley grabbed onto Jill as an opening came across the elevator floor they were on. he didn't let go, and that's when Amy and Furret reacted.

"Tumia!" yelled Amy at the Furret, "we got to stop this thing from falling!"

Tumia, a female Furret looked at Amy with a frightened face. "How?" she asked.

The elevator shook and the dark cloud thing came over them all. Amy started to slash away at the clouds came near her. Tumia did the same with Fury Swipes, but she had a disadvantage doing it, the cursed clouds just stuck to her with every hit. Amy cut her lose, but it just kept coming.

"You," yelled Charley, "Sneasel, take this," he tossed a metal pole from the remains of the ceiling to Amy, which she caught, "and jam it up there!"

Charley pointed to a open spot through the smoke to the pull of a rope and a steel block that was still with an opening right there.

The elevator shook again, and without question, Amy started to climb the walls to the spot trying to carry the metal behind her.

Tumia ran as fast as she could over to Charley and her trainer.

"Jill!" yelled the frantic Furret looking to see if Jill was alright. She went over to Jill's shoulder and started to look at her.

"She's alright for now," said Charley, "but if we don't do something, this thing will get us."

For the first time already, Tumia noticed the curse wasn't attacking. It was, but something wasn't letting it. She looked at Charley and saw his eyes closed, but she could see the white sweep through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Amy was climbing the elevator levels and attacking the smoke with Ice Beam any time it tried to attack her.

She dodged a hit from it and jumped to the other side swinging the metal with her as she climbed.

_SMACK!_

Amy was hit by the smoke arms and fell back down a floor near the elevator, with the metal up at the other level being hold down by the ledge.

Amy attacked the arms with another Ice Beam, but it was weaker. Amy didn't have the strength to do anymore Ice Beams; instead, she continued her climb up the elevator room.

She was doing fine and almost reached the metal, but was pulled by the curse to the other side.

"Wah!" Amy screamed as the curse pulled her to the other side of the elevator conveyer and she hit the wall almost knocking her out, and to smoke started to get her…

Back down inside the broken elevator, Charley couldn't hold the field. Not only was he protecting the Pokémon and Jill from the curse, but his force field couldn't last long enough to keep the elevator from collapsing down and the curse from attacking them. It was a hard position he couldn't handle. The pain from all the powers he was using was too great, he never showed it, but inside he was screaming in pain from the power.

Tumia realized what was happening to him. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing, could she?

Tumia ran away from Jill and Charley as Charley slowly was losing consciousness and started climbing the elevator like Amy was, except a lot faster.

Amy who was on the top of the conveyer and being attacked by the curse, also started to lose consciousness too. The powerful curse was circling her and taking her soul away slowly, hoping to curse someone else with her.

Amy couldn't see much of anything now; the smoke everywhere was too much. She was about to finally give in to the curse's wrath, when suddenly the curse stopped attacking.

Amy opened her eyes more trying to see clearly and saw a green shield in front of her. She turned around and saw Tumia next to the metal. She was using Protect to stop the curse, just like Charley was to stop the elevator from falling.

Tumia walked next to the metal, and with quick reflexes, stopped using Protect and pulled the metal one more step up, and jammed it into the side.

Down with Charley and Jill, Charley couldn't hold his power on much longer. The pain was too great, he was beginning to see blurry vision and slowly, fell in defeat with Jill, who was waking up now.

The elevator gave a jolt and moved down crashing a bit.

"AH!" screamed Jill as the elevator started to fall, but then stopped. Charley who had fallen unconscious started to roll down to the opening. The elevator was slanted to the right and slowly turning more.

Now it was Jill's turn to help Charley. She grabbed onto him and dragged him up to her. She put him right in front of her as the elevator slowly tilted sideways and the laws of gravity started to kick in, pulling Jill as she grabbed onto the handle next to her.

_CRASH!_

The entire right side broke off making a gap halfway filled with debris. Jill screamed and couldn't hold onto Charley any longer, and the curse started to circle both of them.

Above in the mechanics of the elevator, Amy went against the wall of a steel rectangular pole and watched the curse stop trying to get her and descend downwards.

"Amy!" shouted Tumia trying to get Amy's attention, "we got to save them!"

Amy looked down below and saw the elevator about to fall and twisted to the extreme.

"Huh?" Amy started, as she looked down at the nearly fallen elevator. She shook away the small feeling she was having and looked down. Amy gasped seeing the elevator again, and then she jumped from her position and started falling down to the curse, her trainer, and Charley.

Tumia followed, but instead of jumping, she ran down the wall with speed.

Amy was already right above the curse. She had her claws ready to slash like she never slashed before.

_SLAM!_

One of the curse's arms grabbed her pushed her against the wall. It hurt her painfully; this wasn't your ordinary Pokémon battle, this was much worse. All of her sides hurt to the max; slowly she again started to lose consciousness.

The elevator was starting to fall and the curse circled Charley and Jill more. After a few seconds of heart pounding moments, the elevator broke free of its ropes, and started to fall.

"I got you!" yelled Tumia and made a force field again, Protect. The force stopped the elevator and Charley and Jill fell onto the slippery field the Furret had created.

Back with Amy, her thoughts started to disappear, and she started to remember something…

FLASH!

Amy was looking through first-person images. She was in some kind of temple, she wasn't the only one there; she was with other humans. Six other humans to be correct.

_Were they my trainers…?_

FLASH!

Amy was in another room. There was a strange Pokémon that she had never seen before, it was fighting a human.

_Could he be trusted? Yes, he was saving me… right?_

FLASH!

A gun was right in front of her. A shotgun to be exact, with a strange Pokéball sign engraved into it. A human was yelling at her. She couldn't make out anything else, just that.

_Was he saying shoot it? Shoot what?_

FLASH!

A mysterious darkness was surrounding Amy, she still couldn't see much. After awhile, it disappeared. She started to get a better image and saw herself looking all around her body, frightened.

_Why was I scared? Was that thing I saw what is hurting me right now?_

FLASH!

Another human was right in front of Amy, but she couldn't see right. She saw herself bleeding red blood. There was a vortex near her and a dead Jolteon. The human was…

_Wait, is he a human? He has brown fur all over his body with big ears!_

FLASH!

The same person with fur was putting a bomb inside a chest. A chest that had grey liquid like smoke flying out of it. Amy saw herself being pulled by the vortex. Before she disappeared into the center, the person with fur gave her a thumbs-up, and she smiled with tears in her eyes nodding her head, and then went into the vortex.

_What is happening? Why was I feeling sorry and giving thanks to someone that was about to blow up an ancient Pokémon ground?_

FLASH!

Amy was back in reality, the elevator was already down with only the support from Tumia's Protect to keep it from falling.

Amy felt the pressure from the curse's force keep on hurting her. She tried to pull away, but the pain was too strong.

_No!_, Amy though to herself, _I won't die like this!_

Amy's body started to get brighter. Ice started to form in her hands and mouth, and in a few seconds, she shot out a very powerful Blizzard attack.

The curse fell away from her releasing her from its grasp and Amy fell down over the elevator. The Blizzard was even powerful than she thought, it started to freeze everything!

The elevator she stood on started hardening to ice and the Protect move's surface started to make a bridge of ice.

Charley was waking up due to the coldness that was taking over. Tumia went over to them without having to hold Protect anymore as the ice hardened over it instead. Jill looked up at Amy who was still standing over the broken elevator.

"Good job," said Jill before collapsing onto the unsteady ice and resting for what had just happened.

Using all her strength, Amy pulled open the doors at the side which led into a hallway that was filled with darkness.

Amy fell into the ice purposely and relaxed. That Blizzard took a lot of her energy to make.

Slowly, Charley rose from his resting position. He looked around the area, and then looked at Jill. After the short glance, he looked at Amy. Charley then turned around and looked at Tumia.

Charley sighed. "At least none of us fell victim to the curse," he said.

Amy raised an eyebrow at Charley after getting to a sitting position. "Don't you think we should be running away for our lives after experiencing something like this?"

"Actually, yes," said Charley.

This startled Amy. "You understood what I said?" she asked.

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh, kind of a long story," he replied, "but the point is, your right, let's go."

Tumia was in the same reaction as Amy. On the floor, Jill had almost the same confused face too.

She got up and stared at Charley. "You can talk to Pokémon?" she asked.

"You know what," started Charley, "let's just forget about this moment and get out of here. Okay?"

Jill was looking at Charley with an unsure face, but then reluctantly replied, "Okay."

The three on the other side of the elevator crawled under the space provided by the Blizzard attack and exited the doors with Amy following behind them.

It was very dark in the hallway there. Jill started to talk.

"I got to go to my room. There's something I need," she said looking at Charley through the darkness.

Charley shrugged.

"Sneasel," said Jill, "I want you to follow Charley and listen to him, I'll be back later. Furret, follow me."

Before she could leave, Charley stopped her. He looked at Jill ready to tell her something.

"I don't think it's a good idea to split up," said Charley.

"Relax," replied Jill, "I'll only be gone for about two seconds, meanwhile, look for whatever you were looking for when I first met you."

With that, she left with Tumia following behind her.

"Well," started Amy, "what _were_ you looking for?" she crossed her arms like anyone else with wondering about Charley now that she knew he could understand her.

"I wasn't supposed to tell, but now that the curse's secret is out, I'll just fill you in. let's go—uh—you got a name?"

Amy looked at the other hallway. "Amy," she said.

"Okay, well let's go while I tell you about what's happening."

They started to walk away, and heard a loud bang behind them as the elevator fell from being hold by the ice and broke to the bottom floor. They ignored the sound, and Charley walked with Amy telling her everything about his curse. Amy wasn't really paying attention though, she was wondering about the strange flashbacks she had awhile ago. She did know one thing though: she never remembered herself doing _anything_ the flashbacks showed.


	17. The Robot

Sorry if this one seems rushed, but today is the only day I have some free time of my own. This was written in three hours, so if there's grammer mistakes (which there shouldn't be) or misleading sentences, sorry. :(

**Chapter 17: The Robot**

Charley continued to tell Amy about himself. After every sentence, Amy would nod and say okay.

The hallway was really dark; Charley couldn't see his hands in front of his face, much less the Sneasel walking right besides him. Amy on the other hand was doing great, she could see in the darkness that the boat gave out.

"Wait," Charley started, as he stopped walking, "stop, Amy."

Amy turned around and saw Charley looking at the ceiling. A white light started to glow from his eyes bringing light to the small dark hall.

Charley was looking up, and seeing _through_ the upper floor, then through that, and then the last floor above that Charley saw movements, not human, but Pokémon. He tried to see clearer and saw closer. There were five Pokémon in the room, and one human. Charley looked even closer with his vision, and saw that the human was shadowy.

"Oh god," Charley gasped. Without even thinking, he ran off with Amy following behind him. He made a sudden stop and looked up; his eyes glowed even more now.

Unbelievingly, he was lifted off the floor. He had his hand to Amy motioning for her to follow.

Amy was a little freaked out now. She went right next to him and grabbed onto his hands.

"You ready Amy?" asked Charley.

Amy nodded and waited for the worst to happen. There was a sudden quake in the upper floor, and then a portal of darkness appeared on the ceiling. It was the move Faint Attack. With a tired look on his face, Charley started to fly up and into the portal to appear on the floor above.

Another portal appeared on the new hall's ceiling and Charley went right through it again.

The newer hall they were in had wreckage everywhere. There was a light at one end, but Charley and Amy continued to fly upwards onto the last one where they stopped.

Charley's eyes went back to normal as the portal below him disappeared and he and Amy both fell onto the floor.

Amy got up and looked around at the darkness; Charley also was getting up from his position. He tried to see clearly, but couldn't focus. "Ouch," was his only word.

"Are you alright?" asked Amy lending out her claw hand to help Charley get up.

"Yeah," replied Charley, "I'm fine, this always happens when I use my powers." Charley got up and started to stand, when he felt wetness hit him. Charley felt the wet area from his side and pulled his hand to his face for a better look. Blood.

Another red drop hit Charley; he turned around and saw Amy looking up with a bit of fright.

"Amy?" Charley started as he started to stare at what he was looking at, and gasped.

There were twoemployees on the ceiling. There was a dark powerful hold keeping them in place, but also squeezing them by the minute!

Charley felt about to throw-up now, he ran to the trash can near him and started coughing into it expecting to throw his breakfast out. He turned away from the trash can after ten seconds and looked at the ceiling that Amy was still staring at.

"I don't think I would've stand alone staring at that thing," Charley said, making Amy lose her concentration from the ceiling.

"Oh," she started, "it's just that, I feel I've seen this before, I'm trying to remember, but I can't…"

"It's better if you forget than try to remember," Charley said, and then looked at the door next to Amy. "Stand back, this is the room."

Charley walked in front of the door and got ready to open it. He turned the knob, but it was locked.

"Just as I suspected," Charley muttered to himself, and then got back and slammed the door.

_SLAM!_

Charley got ready again. This time, he kicked the door, and it made the same slamming noise.

_SLAM!_

Charley stood back again. He got all of his energy and looked at the door ready to attack it, Amy watched from behind as Charley backed up and was ready to give another hit to the door.

_SLAM!_

Charley broke through the door panting and saw a shadowy figure in front of him.

_Is that the curse?_, thought Charley.

The smoke descended and started to form around a Sableye on the floor, and then it vanished into the Pokémon. Everything around it was still for awhile, and then the other Pokémon in the room started to yell at Charley.

Amy walked right by him and saw the Sableye; she quickly started to run to it, but Charley stopped her.

"Hold on," Charley said. He started walking up to the Sableye on the cage floor while trying to keep the blood away from his shirt by brushing it off. Now the Pokémon in the room were telling him how much trouble he was getting into. He ignored them and kept on walking.

"Check the walls," Charley told Amy, and she started to search around the Pokémon cages.

"Anything I should be looking for?" Amy asked still searching behind the cages as the Pokémon yelled at her every move.

"Yeah," answered Charley, "if you find a gun, use your Faint Attack to destroy it."

Charley kneeled down right next to the cage. He opened the side and reached in, pulling out the Sableye inside.

_Yeah_, thought Charley, _he's dreaming._

Charley put his hand on top of the Sableye, and started to use his powers. His eyes turned white and soon, the other Pokémon stopped their constant barking and started to look at Charley puzzled.

Charley ignored them and continued using his powers. He turned around and extended his hand, pointing at the broken computer at the edge. The computer started to glow, and then it shattered into pieces!

The pieces fell on the floor and Charley started to rearrange them with his powers. The computer fell to bits and was now scattered. Amy stopped searching and started to stare like the Houndour, Smeargle, Umbreon, and Jolteon were staring.

The pieces flew over the Sableye and formed over its body. It took the shape of the Sableye, and then vanished into the body.

"Amy," started Charley, "I'm not goanna be able to hold out my powers long enough, I'm goanna transport you into his mind along with myself, and we're going to look for a boy. I can sustain holding only one person in his body, so I'll help you every step. To put it simple, I'll be there, but I won't actually _be_ there."

Amy was quiet for moment. "Huh?" she finally asked.

"You'll see," said Charley, "just come right near me."

Amy hesitated, but then ended up walking to Charley. She walked right in front of him where she could see his eyes burning white to the extreme.

"Okay," said Amy, "now what?"

Charley put one of his hands against Amy's face and kept his other hand on the Sableye. His eyes flashed real bright. Then the last flash came and the Sneasel that was standing right in front of Charley disintegrated. Each particle of its body fell apart, and then fell into the Sableye.

Charley's eyes glowed more bright, there was a white light that came out of his mouth and circled the Sableye, and then vanished into it. Charley fell to the floor knocked out, but his eyes remained white.

The Pokémon in the room had an expression that showed complete shock to what they just saw. Charley's eyes remained opened and bright.

* * *

Light flashed everywhere. There was a strange sound, and as soon as it vanished away, Amy fell onto the ground floor. 

"Uh," she grunted after landing and falling forward. She was standing on soft snow. She put her claws into it and pulled them out bringing the white substance up to her face.

_Yup_, Amy thought, _that's snow alright._

She turned around and saw a metal object sticking out of the ground. Curious, Amy walked up to it. The snow covered most of it, but she could see it was a hand of some sort…

A white ball of light fell from the sky and started to circle the object. The light entered through the sides of the snow down below to probably where the hand was connected to.

There was silence for a moment, and then Amy started to walk towards the strange hand thing.

One of the three clawsstartedtwitching

"Ah!" screamed Amy as she backed away with the small fright she received. Another claw-like mechanical hand broke through the snow near the other hand, and a creature jumped right out of the snow hole it was stuck in.

It was a mechanical Sableye. The Sableye turned and looked at Amy.

"It's okay," it said, "it's me, Charley."

Amy made a strange face showing confusion. "Charley?" she asked.

The Sableye nodded its head and the mechanical engines were heard from the movements of its body. Charley stood up and showed a white part glowing in his chest. He pointed to it.

"This is what's helping me control this machine form of a Sableye," he said.

Amy was quiet for a moment; she didn't know what to say.

"Uh…" Amy started, "and you picked to control a robot Sableye because…?" she waited for Charley to finish her sentence.

"It's not for me just to look pretty," replied Charley, "we need to find Alex, you don't know him yet, but you will."

"Huh?"

"Alex is cursed, we are the ones that are going to save him," said Charley. He said it like he was talking to a toddler. "Because he is cursed with a Sableye, he needs to escape _in_ a Sableye's body. I'm only here temporarily, when we find him, I'm going to give him this body and hopefully you will know the way out already."

"Out of what?" asked Amy.

Charley pointed through the shadows of the wind, and slowly a castle made of glass started to form in the outlines. It was huge, and looked pretty dangerous too.

"Once I show you the place and we find Alex, you're going to help him get out. He's going to be using this body I'm using to escape with you. Once both of you are out, I'll transport you both out of this place. It's easy; I've done this before, exceptit was to me. It's too hard to explain, I'll tell you later, but for now, let's save Alex."

"Okay," said Amy, "seems like we've got a job to do then. Are you sure your new form won't slow you down?"

"Don't worry about me," said Charley, "I've been through this before. Now let's save Alex before his Sableye wakes up."

Charley turned and started to walk to the castle through the snow making a mechanical sound with each step.

"Wait," called Amy, "what happens when his Sableye wakes up?"

Charley stopped. He turned his head to the side and saw Amy through his peripheral vision of the robotic eyes. "Then if he finds the gun you couldn't find and kills himself, we're doomed."

Amy gulped at this. After a short image of what she thought could happen if that would happen, she followed Charley through the snow and walked near the castle with him.


	18. Dangerous Climbing

-phew- new chap.

**Chapter 18: Dangerous Climbing**

Darry squeezed through the crowd in the darkness of the boat. It was really hard to see, everyone was yelling and there was no sense of humanity left at all anymore. Nini kept close behind Darry. As they walked through the rioting crowd, someone (probably the captain) started to yell at the crowd to stop yelling. He had a megaphone, but it didn't seem to work as good, so he just yelled using a loud voice.

"Calm down everyone!" yelled the captain. Darry stopped walking as people got in the way to see the captain.

"Get out of the way!" Darry yelled trying to get passed. Nini grabbed onto Darry's arm and started to hold him still.

"Stop," Nini called to Darry, "we need to get passed these crowds, but in order to do that we got to pretend to listen and sneak away. People will get suspicious."

Darry pulled away. "Oh yeah," he started, "what kind of people?"

"How about those," Nini replied pointing across the room. Darry turned to see who she was pointing at and saw security guards guarding the exits.

"They're just ship guards," said Darry.

Nini shook her head. "Look again."

Darry turned and saw the security guards. They were normal security guards; Darry had no idea what Nini was talking about them being able to stop them. He looked closer, and then finally saw what Nini was talking about.

One of the guards had a Pokéball, not an ordinary Pokéball though; this Pokéball had white and blue areas instead of red and white. And there was a small engraving that was slightly visible, and it showed the Team Aqua sign all over it.

Darry looked at some other guards and saw that a few of them also had the same Pokéballs showing that they were part of Team Aqua.

"No," said Darry, "Aqua Grunts here?"

"Well," started Nini, "we _are_ in the ocean, right?"

Darry looked around and saw a hall free of guards. "Come-on, this way!" Darry called Nini.

Darry started to go to the hall with Nini following behind him.

"Uh excuse me," said the captain stopping them, "where do you think you're going? We're just about to explain something, no one leaves."

Darry turned around and saw the captain looking with a stern look right at his way. Darry turned to Nini to try and get some help, but Nini wasn't concentrating on what was happening right there anymore, she was having another vision.

In the vision, someone was yelling a name, but she couldn't really get the name right. She had heard it before, but wasn't quite sure from where. A scene showed that there was a shotgun in someone's hand, and that person was walking away from someone shouting their name. the gun was cocked, and the person she soon recognized as Charley jumped over to the person about to use the gun right as it was being pressed against his face…

"I'm sorry captain," started Darry, "but, uh, my girlfriend needs to really go to the restrooms right now."

"She'll have to hold it, I'm about to speak."

"But sir, she really needs to go right now. And what if there are others still not here and we find them on our way to the restroom? We could help bring them here!"

"Son, I'm trying to keep everyone in place so there's no pandemonium, so just stay put."

A security guard came up to the captain from behind. "Captain, don't worry, I'll take them. I'll quickly bring them back as soon as possible, there's no problem."

The captain looked at the security guard and then back at Darry trying to see if he should let them go.

"Oh alright," said the captain, "I'm giving you five minutes, go."

"Thank you sir," said the security guard, and then started to walk towards Darry and Nini. "Darry, Jenny, follow me."

Darry looked at the security guard for a moment; Nini must have seen it too. The security guard left them out of the hall, and as soon as they left, the security guard stopped Darry and Nini.

The security guard took out a flashlight and then pointed it up to his face. He smiled at the surprised duo.

"Henry?" Darry and Nini asked in unison, then turned to each other and said the same thing again, "you know him?"

"It's a surprise that you two know each other," said Henry with a smile, "both of you were contained for different reasons, both of you were in different rooms for different reasons, yet both of you know for one almost got kicked out of HQ," he was now looking at Nini and Nini smiled remembering her escape, "and the other I helped get out."

"Well," started Darry, "we got a big problem right now, do you remember Charley?"

"Of coarse," replied Henry, "I was the one extracting his abilities trying to capture this curse for you guys. Maybe it would have been done earlier if someone would've cooperated." Again he made a stare at Nini and she blushed.

"It wasn't my fault," Nini tried to defend herself; "you were trying to kill me!"

"Technically heal you," replied Henry.

"Anyways," started Darry again, "we need to find Charley; he's in more danger than ever now. The curse wants to turn him into a Pokémon, I don't know why, it just does, we need to find Charley to tell him. That way he can be ready when the curse comes."

Henry laughed for awhile. After a few seconds, he got his strength back and started to talk to Darry again. "No it doesn't," he said.

"Huh?" Darry and Nini asked.

"I said," started Henry, "it doesn't want to turn your brother into a Pokémon."

Darry looked a bit confused. "How are you so sure?" he asked.

"Well, the curse is said in legend that it wants to haunt people's lives by giving them a hard challenge. You see, as I told you before, Darry, this is just a game. It's a little game that some scientists unleashed, it puts you against your Pokémon, and the survivor between both of you wins, mostly the Pokémon. Because of this, the curse gives a second chance, where the loser mostly fails. They become a clone of their opponent they were put against, like how Misses Jenny here was transformed. With this, they are hunted by the curse. The object of _that_ game is to not die. There are no rules, and there is no time limit. No one's really sure how to pass this one, most that take the second chance die by the curse. Although, I could think of one name that was able to pass this game.

"Who?" asked Darry and Nini in unison.

Henry looked at them with the flashlight. "Your brother, Charley," he replied to them both.

Darry looked away and tried to think about what to do. "How do you know?" asked Darry.

"Well," started Henry, "he's still alive, isn't he? He's not a Pokémon, is he not?"

Nini broke in suddenly. "Then that would make two winners, I'm still alive," she said.

Henry shook his head. "Listen Jenny," he started talking to her, "unless you're not human anymore and are back in your Pokémon body, you're still playing."

This sent a chill down the back of Nini's spine. It was scary to think now after months of running, then thinking that she passed the curse, that after all of that, she was still being hunted.

"Wait," started Nini, "you said that the curse hunts you down, I've been face to face with that thing for some time now and it _still_ hasn't done anything to me."

"That's because it wants something from Charley," answered Henry, "it wants something Charley has, that's why it keeps going after him. Charley is no longer cursed, and I think I know what is going on with him. I think Charley is the reincarnation of the ancient Pokémon that started this curse."

"What?" asked both Darry and Nini. They were in complete shock at what Henry had to say and think about Charley.

"Think about it," said Henry, "if the curse would've wanted to turn Charley into a Pokémon, it would've done it by now. If the curse wanted Charley dead, it would've killed him by now. If the curse just wanted something and Charley _wasn't_ cursed, it would've taken his powers away and continued to hunt him. I think this curse awakened Charley's hidden powers. And I think that's why this curse wants to get Charley; to finally take away the legend from him."

There was silence from all three of them for awhile. "Okay," said Darry, "then what do we do?"

Henry took out a knife from his belt. "Well, that's your problem, I'm goanna go back and tell the captain both of you tried to kill me and then ran away, so that'll give a quick head start. Go." With that said Henry stabbed himself and started to run in the other direction towards everyone.

"Go Jenny," yelled Darry, "run!" they started to run away from the huge room and started running down the empty halls. They didn't turn back and kept their steady pace, until a door ahead of them opened.

"Wow," started Darry, "stop." The door opened outwards and was showing the door side to them, so Darry and Nini had no clue at who was coming out. Or what, because after a few seconds, a Jolteon came out followed by a Smeargle and a Houndour.

"Zap!" shouted Nini. She went up to the Jolteon and hugged it, ignoring the pain from the sharp fur.

"Uh, nice to see you too," started Zap in his own language, "I guess."

"Do you know these Pokémon?" asked Darry.

Nini turned to Darry and started to answer. "Well, only Zap," she said.

"Strange, I don't know _you_," said Zap.

Nini started to get serious. "Zap," she started, "we need to find Charley, do you know where he is?"

"I could think of one or two places he's at," said Zap.

"Show us," Nini said seriously. Zap made a face, but then started to show them where Charley was. The three Pokémon and two humans were now walking back into the room Zap, the houndour, and Smeargle came out of and started to follow the Pokémon back to where they came from without a word.

* * *

**Six Minutes Earlier**

* * *

Charley fell to his knees, and then fell back with his eyes glowing white and staring straight up at the ceiling. It took awhile until finally, one of the Pokémon in the room spoke up. 

"What happened to him?" Zap asked confused about the scenario that just happened.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" asked the Umbreon. The rest were just too confused as well, but didn't say anything. The Sableye's body started to cough, but stayed down on the floor.

"Ghost!" yelled Zap, "hey Ghost, wake up!"

Ghost only turned his head, but didn't react. Zap was getting frustrated. He started to slam against the cage making it shake.

"GHOST," yelled Zap, "WAKE UP!" sparks started to cross Zap all over. Electric shocks flew through his body and started to run around the cage, and then it fell out through the cage and into the rest of the room. In just a few seconds, Zap's cage broke apart and Zap was free of the cage.

The other Pokémon looked at Zap shocked at how he was able to break out of the cage, not even the strongest legendary could escape a cage like Zap's. No amount of strength could break the cages Zap was in; it was strange to see that Zap was able to get out.

"Huh?" Zap said distinctly. He turned around and saw the others just staring at him. "I thought these things would render us powerless…"

"Well," started the Umbreon, "it should have." She closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, she leaped at the cage door and used Faint Attack to get pass it succeeding.

Now the other two Pokémon were staring at her.

Smeargle got his tail and brushed at the cage door making it disintegrate and walked through.

"Hey, these things aren't working!" Smeargle exclaimed.

Houndour flamed the door and made it fly outwards. "You're right…" he said, and then walked away from the cage.

Without wasting time, Zap ran over to Ghost who was still on the floor. Ghost was breathing heavily, his eyes showed that he was looking around somewhere in his mind.

_What's going to happen to him? What's going to happen to Alex?_, thought Zap. He turned around and saw Charley also on the floor, twitching and trying to do something. It was like watching someone having a nightmare.

_What was his name again?_, thought Zap as he searched his memory, _what did Alex call him…_

"Uh," Zap said as he remembered, "hey Charley, get up."

Charley just kept tossing and turning around. "No," Charley said silently.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Umbreon. Zap turned and looked into her eyes.

"I don't know," he replied, "I think we should wake him up." Zap walked over to Charley's chest and Umbreon went to the opposite side. They both looked down into Charley's eyes as they grew really bright with white light, probably the only light that was being shown around the room.

At that moment, Charley bolted up and grabbed onto Zap. This shocked Zap as he wasn't expecting it.

Charley still had his eyes open; he got up still holding onto Zap.

"What are you doing!" asked Zap as Charley picked him up.

"Hey!" shouted Houndour, "let him go!"

Charley let go of Zap dropping him to the floor, Charley fell afterwards landing on the feet of Smeargle. He looked at the Smeargle, and the Smeargle looked back at him.

"Amy," Charley said silently, and then his eyes went completely white, and he laid his head back on the floor.

"Ooookkkaaaay," said Smeargle, "not something I'm used to seeing."

Zap, Umbreon, and Houndour walked over to Charley. The Pokémon made a circle around Charley and stared at him.

"Is he goanna be alright?" asked Houndour.

Zap started to worry. "I don't know," he said, "but we should go get some help for him, he really needs some." Zap turned and looked at Smeargle, Houndour, and Umbreon. "We're goanna need some human help."

The Pokémon looked at each other and started to wonder about what they were going to do.

"Okay," started Umbreon, "you guys go get help, I'll stay here and see what's wrong with this 'Charley' person."

Zap turned and looked at Smeargle and Houndour. They nodded.

"Okay, well let's go."

The Pokémon ran out of the room and left Umbreon behind, where she started to wonder what was really wrong with Charley.

* * *

There was a mechanical noise with each step that Charley took. A Sneasel, Amy, followed behind the robotic Sableye. They both stood in front of huge ice doors to the huge castle they suspected Alex would be in. 

"You ready?" asked Charley. Amy turned away from the towering castle and looked at Charley.

"Ready for what?" she asked.

Charley pointed to the castle. "Well to go in," he said.

Amy shivered. "Yeah," she replied, "I'm ready, but how do we get in?"

Charley grabbed onto her. "By using your powers," he said.

"Okay, which one?"

"Which one do you think?"

"I don't know, tell me!" yelled Amy getting annoyed.

"Alright," replied Charley, "no need to get angry, you just need to use your Faint Attack to get us through these walls. I guide you the rest of the way."

Amy looked up and saw two-hundred feet of wall. "Okay," she said, and then concentrated.

Charley grabbed Amy's hand and in an instant flash of a dark portal, they went inside the castle.

The inside was something you'd expect from a Legend of Zelda game; huge platforms on the sides, a crystal door that was filled with ice in front of them, snow sprawled around every corner, yup, just like a dungeon.

Charley took one step forward making the electronic sound of a robot with his foot. "Come-on," said Charley motioning for Amy to follow, "we need to find Alex now."

Amy took just one step to where Charley was lending out his robotic hand.

_SNAP!_

A trap was triggered, and then a cage flew through the snow and threw Charley to the wall damaging his robotic body. Amy was in a cage now.

"Charley!" she yelled, and then the cage shot upward taking her up to the never ending ceiling, all the way shouting Charley's name.

"Amy!" shouted Charley, and he got up and jumped onto the slippery wall. It was hard to get a grip, but Charley managed and started climbing up the walls. The cage stopped at about a hundred feet in the air.

"I'm coming Amy!" shouted Charley, and he started climbing even faster jumping some cracks to risk getting there fast.

He was already ten feet off the ground. _I can make it_, thought Charley.

Suddenly, a crack in front of him opened blocking his way up, and out came a small creature. Surskit.

Three more Surskits came out of the crack and started to get all over Charley's computerized Sableye body.

"Get away!" shouted Charley as he kicked at them and threw them down. They threw small Bubblebeams at Charley damaging the computer body more. Suddenly, another crack opened, but went out like a diving board. Charley grabbed onto it and looked down; twenty feet of down.

"Ah!" Charley yelled and pulled himself over the board and continued to knock the Surskits off his body.

A sudden surge of electricity over came Charley, and he was being reenergized! He turned around and saw a small Minun giving out a week thundershock that was actually helping Charley. With the Surskits already week from the electric attack the Minun gave them and Charley, he turned and looked at the Minun.

The Minun sat innocently right where it had come out. Charley was about to continue climbing, when a powerful hit came from the Minun.

"Oomph," said Charley as the robotic technicians in his body started to stop for awhile from the blow. Charley almost fell back, but regained balance and grabbed the Minun from the chest.

"Min!" yelled the Minun, but Charley didn't listen to it and put it over the area leading to the ground floor. After a few seconds, Charley let go of it and Minun fell off the ledge. "Nuuuuunnnnn!" it yelled as it fell to the bottom.

Charley saw red light show from the top of the tower he was jumping and climbing from, and looked up.

He gasped as he saw flames start to descend from the top of the towers and saw them start to get nearer to Amy.

"Amy!" yelled Charley. At that moment, his eyes started to glow. He concentrated, and snow started to pick up from around him. The snow circled around Charley making a little dance, and then picked him up. Charley looked straight up and just pushed upwards.

He felt the rush of the wind go by him as he flew up, and he also felt extreme pain.

_Come-on_, thought Charley, _I can save Amy, I can do it in time._

After a few seconds, he was right at the top point where the fire was near Amy. Charley used his powers again and made a small ball of energy and blasted it against the cage wall that had Amy trapped.

"What are you doing!" asked Amy.

"Forget it, just jump!"

At that moment, Amy jumped and landed on Charley's Sableye shoulder, and within seconds, the cage flew up and into the fire. Charley stopped using his powers and started to fall, with Amy right beside him.

Amy screamed on the way down, what else could she do, they were falling to their _death_.

Charley wasn't scared at all. He looked to the ground and saw it coming right at him. He grabbed Amy's hand.

"Hold on to me," said Charley.

Amy nodded, and looked down terrified. Charley's eyes started to glow. Just a few feet from ground level, Amy started to scream, and then they stopped falling.

They were floating right above the ground snow. Five seconds passed, and Charley stopped using his powers and both Amy and himself fell the last three feet.

Amy got up and looked around. She stared at Charley who was now getting up, and he gave her a thumbs up (or claws up).

Amy looked up where they had fallen, and her eyes grew wide.

"Charley look out!" she yelled, and then pushed Charley out of the way as the rest of the cage fell, and landed on the snow filled floor on fire.


	19. Saving Alex

The ending to this chapter is a little rushed. Sorry about that, anyways, this is the first time I've tried any tragedy, so it might suck. oh well, enjoy!

**Chapter 19: Saving Alex**

Charley looked straight up to see Amy's face right in front of him. If he wasn't in a robot body, he would've been blushing red.

Amy got off of him and stood up. "Sorry," she said, but unfortunately for her, Charley could see her blush.

"No problem," said Charley and got up. Fire rose from the cage that had fallen. Charley walked over to the fire and grabbed one of the cage handles that were on fire. He then turned around and faced the freezing door in front of him.

"Hah!" he yelled, and threw the flaming handle at the ice holding the door. The ice started to melt and gave way to an ice filled hall going who knows where. Charley turned and faced Amy.

"C'mon," he said, "we got to find Alex, fast."

Amy looked at the hall and reluctantly walked forward. "Are you sure this time it's safe?" asked Amy.

Charley looked straight down the hall and saw an opening at the end. "Yeah," he said, "I'm sure."

Amy was still reluctant, but started to walk down the hall. Charley grabbed onto her arm, and she turned to look at him.

"I'll go first," he said, "I recall saying 'I' was your guide."

Amy nodded and stepped out of the way as the robotic Sableye walked passed her and into the ice cold hall.

Ice hung everywhere in the room, the snow was deep making it hard to get across. Charley walked over the heavy snow with the Sneasel following behind him. As he walked further, the deep snow began to harden, and the more he walked, the more he started to stand on ice.

Charley and Amy reached the end of the hall and were standing on frozen ice now. There was a walkway leading straight ahead to another hall. However, below was thousands of feet of darkness.

Charley froze right there looking down as Amy looked up at how high it was; it was the same length as the other room.

"Okay," said Charley, "let's go."

He started to walk the unstable bridge of ice leaving Amy behind. Amy wasn't interested in crossing the bridge; she was staring up at the high ground and seeing the glass of a room way high in the ceiling. She shivered a bit, not because of the coldness, but because of wonder on what awaited both of them.

Shortly after Charley made it across, he turned around and looked at Amy.

"C'mon," he called out to her. Amy shrugged and started to walk the bridge. A cold breeze went by her, but she shook it away and reached the end.

"You alright?" asked Charley.

Amy turned to face him, then turned and looked back up. She felt something was wrong, but didn't know what. After a few seconds, she turned her attention back to Charley.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."

"Okay," said Charley, shrugging and then broke away the glass blocking their path with his fist. The glass shattered and revealed a door.

"It looks like as if everything was set up just for us already," said Amy as she walked towards the door with Charley.

"Well," started Charley, putting his claws on the doorknob, "technically this is a dream."

"A dream?" asked Amy, "but I thought we were inside a Sableye…"

"We are, but this Sableye is asleep and we're in its mind. We're in his dream in other words." Charley turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He motioned with his head to follow him in, and then went right in there.

Inside the room hung more ice. At the end, there were chunks of ice striking up and there was a door that hung right beside one of the chunks. The door seemed really hard to get to, as the ice rocks were everywhere and Charley and Amy were still standing over ice. Through the ice below them, there was a bottomless pit.

"Stay close to me," Charley told Amy, and then started walking over the thin ice that kept them from falling. Amy followed behind him as he continued. Cracks started to appear on the floor and Amy started to get worried.

"Nothing's goanna happen," said Charley. He quickened his pace as the ice started to crack more and reached the area that had the huge chunks.

"Get on the ice," said Charley. Amy reluctantly jumped onto the huge ice piece and turned around to Charley.

"Give me your hand, Charley," said Amy. Charley was about to grab onto Amy's Sneasel claws, but stopped. He started to look a little dizzy.

"Charley?" asked Amy, "are you alright?"

Charley turned around and put his claws on his face like anyone with a headache would. Through the robot body, Amy could see Charley was trying to breath. Charley fell to the floor making a big crack on the ice ground.

"Charley!" yelled Amy. She jumped off the ice piece and landed on the thin ice that looked like it was about to break any second. She grabbed Charley and started pulling him over the huge ice rock and laid him sprawled on the rock. The light in Charley's chest started to fade away.

"Charley, wake up!" yelled Amy. Her voice echoed throughout the room. She started shaking Charley hoping to wake him up, but it was no good.

_What's going on with him!_

* * *

Darkness filled the entire room. There weren't really anything that was of value compared to the suites, but there were still rooms. The entrance door's doorknob started to shake. It stopped abruptly. White light seethed through the other end of the door, and in just seconds it burst inwards. Jill ran in with Tumia, a Furret, and started to look around the room scanning it.

"Alright," said Jill, "Furret, you check the right side of the room, I'll take the left."

Tumia nodded and started to go through the drawers. Jill ran over to a suitcase near a bed and opened. Quickly, she shuffled through the contents trying to find that book.

_C'mon_, thought Jill, _it's in here somewhere!_

After checking the entire suitcase, she threw it aside and looked under the bed. There were dirty socks and other junk lying around, but no book.

"Fur, furret!" yelled Tumia. Jill turned and looked at her.

"Did you find it?" asked Jill. Tumia came over to Jill with the six inch book in her mouth. Jill grabbed it and started to flip through the pages.

"This is it," said Jill. She closed it and sat on the bed. Tumia crawled over the bed too and climbed up Jill's arm to get a closer look at the book. There were letters all over the book with only two that were clearly visible: The Ancients.

Jill turned the pages all the way to page one and stared. She flipped to page two, then three.

"Here it is, the Table of Contents," said Jill looking at Tumia. She looked through them.

Mew's Birth, Three of the Sea, Lugia Winds, Entei's Fire, and so on. There were many small stories on the legendaries, but Jill was looking for one only. One that was never mentioned along with any other legendaries, the one that was said to create mankind itself.

"Come on!" yelled Jill, then she rested on the bed as Tumia climbed off her. "There's gotta be one way that this curse Charley has is in here!" she tossed the book across the room and stared at the ceiling. "I know that somehow, this curse is connected to the ancients, I just know it!"

"And you're right."

Jill turned to see who was there. A man stood at the doorway, by the looks of it, he was a security guard.

"Oh," said Jill, "I didn't see you there officer."

The security guard didn't move from his spot standing right in the doorway.

"So you know about the curse," started the guard, "no one else but us is supposed to know… tell me, are you affiliated with Team Rocket by any means noticeably?"

"Team Rock—no…" said Jill. She started to worry that maybe she shouldn't have been wondering around.

"Then…" the man stopped talking, and then smiled. He pulled out a little radio from his pocket and called into it. "Roger, I've got a cursed right here in front of me, let's take her and go."

_What!_, thought Jill.

"Copy that," called a voice from the radio, "sending troops over right away."

"Over and out," said the guard, then he put the radio away and walked over to Jill.

"What do you mean, 'cursed'?" asked Jill.

"Alright," said the guard, "just tell me what you're cursed with. We'll help you as best as we can."

"But I'm _not_ cursed."

The guard looked at Jill with a puzzled face, and then returned to his old glance.

"There's no need to hide it, Team Rocket will do their best to help you out, just give us a chance."

"I'm not cursed," said Jill with a straightforward voice.

"Then how do you know about the curse?"

"That's none of your business!" yelled Jill. Somehow, she knew she couldn't tell the guard about Charley. She just felt it in her.

"Everything's our business, now come with me!"

"No!"

The guard grabbed Jill by the hand and pushed her against the bed.

"Ow!" she yelled, "Furret, tackle him!"

The security guard grabbed his Pokéball which was decorated with red and black strips and a big 'R' on it.

"Cloyster," shouted the security guard, "Go! Use Clamp!"

The Cloyster opened its shell and started to clamp down on Tumia. Tumia jumped out of the way and went for a hard tackle to the security guard.

_SLAM!_ A Nidorino slammed against Tumia knocking her to the ground helplessly.

"Furret!" yelled Jill. The security guard pushed Jill harder and grabbed some handcuffs. He put them around Jill and brought her right next to him. There were other guards right outside the door.

"Take the girl," said the security guard pushing Jill over to the other guard, "she's cursed."

"I'm not cursed!" yelled Jill. The other guards grabbed onto her tightly.

"I'll take care of her Pokémon," said the security guard that had spotted Jill in the first place.

"No!" yelled Jill, "leave Furret alone!"

Tumia was pinned against the wall with the Nidorino pushing even harder. The guards took Jill away as she shouted for her Pokémon, who she never thought would see again in a long time.

* * *

Umbreon waited patiently for the return of Zap, Houndour, and Smeargle. Every once in awhile, she would turn and look to see if there was something wrong with Charley. The room was completely dark and she was left behind on choice to guard an unconscious Sableye and a half awake human. Only a minute had passed, and she was already getting worried.

Umbreon walked back and forth for awhile. There was a short silence for awhile, and then heavy breathing was heard.

The breathing got louder. Finally, Umbreon turned and tried to find the source of the breathing.

She stopped right in front of a air vent. She could feel wind coming through it, but she felt it was somehow dangerous. Umbreon continued to look into the vent, and then she started to glow. The rings on her side started to flash bright.

Still, Umbreon continued to look into the vent.

"Hello?" she called out. In an instant, a black substance broke right out of the vent and pushed Umbreon against the wall.

"Ah!" she screamed in pain, but then got on her fighting stance and lunged at the dark liquid smoke.

Umbreon went right through the ghostly thing and crashed against the floor. She quickly got up and turned to see that the spirit started to circle Charley.

"Don't touch him!" yelled Umbreon, then she leaped again and started to bite the dark air. It broke up, but grew together again and continued circling Charley. At exactly the moment it was above Charley, it slammed straight down on him and started to enter his body from his mouth and nose.

"Uck luk," Charley started choking. His breathing started to increase.

_No!_

Umbreon jumped right on top of Charley and started scratching away at the dark ghostly spirit that was entering Charley. It stopped some of it, but most of it continued entering him. Charley was dieing.

All of a sudden, Charley opened his eyes. White light was shown around his eyes blocking every angle of looking directly into his eyes.

Umbreon jumped off of Charley and started to help Charley get up, even though the smoke was still going inside him.

"Come on Charley!" yelled Umbreon, "get up now!" She started to attack the spirit again.

The spirit started to go up and attached itself on the ceiling. It came right back down and slammed into Charley.

Suddenly, the door opened. Zap, Houndour, Smeargle, Nini, and Darry were standing right outside the door. They stared shocked at what was happening. The curse stopped attacking Charley, and quickly went and aimed for the others outside the door.

"Ah!" they all screamed. The curse went fast and aimed for Zap. Zap jumped out of the way by seconds and instead, the curse ended up hitting Darry.

By the force of the blow, Darry was flung to the wall. The curse wrapped around him and made a firm grip around his body, and then pulled him into the darkness of the hall.

"AH!" screamed Darry as he was taken away. An arm of the curse reached out again and was going for Zap again. With another quick agility filled jump, Zap got out of the way as the arm instead grabbed Smeargle.

"Huh!" started the Smeargle alarmed, but then the curse pulled him away into the darkness too.

Screams were heard as the curse took the two, the rest could hear Smeargle sending out attacks, but they were muffled by the smoke.

Meanwhile, Charley awoke from being with Amy. He looked around and saw an Umbreon right next to him. He couldn't see through the white brightness that was still in his eyes, but reacted quickly when he saw the dark smoke just outside the hall. Charley put the unconscious Sableye that was on the floor over his shoulder and started running for the door.

"Come on, Umbreon!" called out Charley. He ran into the hall and dodged a shadow hand that tried to reach him right when he got out. He looked to the others in the hall and just needed to say one word.

"RUN!"

Without a word, everyone started to run the opposite direction from the curse as it chased after them. Zap and Houndour were ahead of the line while Umbreon was right behind them and Charley and Nini running behind her. Nini was trying to stay close to Charley as he was carrying a Sableye with him.

Nini stayed real close to him, but as she ran, two small balls fell out of her pocket. She turned back, but didn't stop running. The red and blue balls went into the darkness of the curse. Charley was about to turn and look at what she was looking at, but Nini then slapped him and made sure he didn't look.

"Ow!" said Charley.

"Don't look over there!" yelled Nini. A bright red and blue glow exploded from the darkness filling the entire room with the light, then like all explosions, a powerful force shook the place with fire, and filled the path ahead with fire on the walls. The ground shook and the floor tore open.

"AH!" everyone screamed as they all fell into the opening in the floor leading to the bottom floor. The curse stopped right where the fire was and then just ran away, disappearing into the vents of the ship.

Charley looked up and saw the flames on the ceiling of the floor above him. He shivered a bit as that was almost the way he was going to die. He got off the floor and saw Nini groaning.

"Hey," Charley called to her, "are you alright?"

Nini turned around and slowly sat up. "Yeah, I'm OK."

Charley offered his hand and Nini grabbed it and she was helped being pulled up. Nini looked around the dark area of the hall, the only light shown was from the floor above. The other Pokémon except for the Sableye started to get up, groaning in pain from the fall.

Houndour got up real fast and started to look around the area in a guarding stance. He then turned and faced Charley and Nini.

"What in the world was that thing!" Houndour screamed.

Now, Charley's eyes stopped glowing. Everyone noticed.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Umbreon.

"Forget him!" yelled Houndour, "what the crap was that thing that got Smeargle!"

"Guys!" shouted Zap, "look…"

Zap motioned with his head toward Ghost, the Sableye. Ghost started to choke, and then he started to shake. His claws, legs, and head were shaking violently and he started to choke even more.

Charley and Nini looked at each other. "He's changing," they both said in unison. Charley went right over to the Sableye and put him over his shoulder again. Nini kicked open a door and went in.

"Alright," started Nini, "put him on the bed."

Charley didn't need to be told, he ran to the bed and put the shaking Sableye on the bed and pulled the covers over Ghost. Zap, Umbreon, and Houndour walked right in and started to look in wonder at what was happening.

Charley put his hand over Ghost and started to concentrate. His eyes grew white, and he slowly moved his hand away from Ghost. A light appeared and started to come out of the Sableye. In a few seconds, a Sneasel fell right out of the light and onto the floor, gasping for air.

The Sneasel had cuts all over her; she looked at her claws then back at Charley.

"No!" she screamed. Amy, the Sneasel, hit the handle edge of the bed with her claws breaking it.

"Wow," started Charley, "what's wrong Amy?"

Amy walked over to a drawer and kicked it. She then leaned against it and looked at her claws.

"He was right there," she said silently, "I could've saved him, he was right there…"

Amy started to remember what happened in just a few minutes, and then she looked at Ghost. She sighed and put her head down and away from the shaking Sableye; it was hard not to get rid of the image she saw…

* * *

"Charley, wake up!" yelled Amy. Her voice echoed throughout the room. She started shaking Charley hoping to wake him up, but it was no good.

_What's going on with him!_

Silence came from the robotic Sableye. After a few seconds of waiting, the eyes of the Sableye started to glow. Not the white glow that always appeared in Charley's eyes, but a dark glow filled with hatred. Amy was shocked to see the shadowy eyes staring at her; she didn't have enough time to react when the robot fist came and punched her.

Amy couldn't believe what just happened. She looked up to see Charley quickly get up too and then run right at her.

_KICK!_ Charley kicked Amy in the stomach making her cry out in pain. He then raised his foot and was about to slam it down on Amy, but she dodged it and tripped the robot.

With the Sableye fallen over, Amy jumped onto the other huge ice rock and stared down at Charley. Charley got up and followed Amy up.

When Charley grabbed onto the ledge of the ice rock, Amy kicked him and made him fall back down to the rock below. The computerized crashing noise was heard, but Charley refused to give up. Amy jumped onto another ice rock and almost slipped, but regained her balance on it.

Charley landed on the ice rock at the other end of the room.

"Charley!" yelled Amy, "don't attack me!"

Ignoring her, Charley jumped straight for Amy.

_Alright_, thought Amy, _he's asking for it!_

Right before Charley could reach the rock Amy was on, Amy shot out an Ice Beam freezing the back side of the robot body and making it fall way back down again.

Slowly, Amy peaked over the edge and looked down. Charley was sprawled down and looked like he had officially been broken up until he couldn't move anymore. He was moving, but only his arms trying to get back up to where Amy was.

Amy walked back and saw the door ahead of her. Slowly, she got her footing and then started to run right at the door. She jumped the ice rock she was on and sailed over to the other side! Down at the bottom was Charley putting himself together.

Amy kicked the door as she landed against it and it pushed open. She grabbed onto the doorknob just as she almost lost her footing, and then continued onward to wherever she could go.

Honestly, Amy had no clue whatsoever to where she was going. In this next room, there were ladders going up to the top of the room and others leading all around the place. As Amy walked forward, she felt the cold sensation of the snow touch her feet. It didn't bother her much, she _was_ part ice anyways, but this snow felt different.

She ignored the thoughts that said something was wrong and went straight to a ladder and started to climb. She didn't know where she was going at all, now she was just looking for a way out.

The door she had entered slammed open, and in came the robot Sableye, Charley.

Charley scanned the area and caught Amy on a ladder, then started to jump on the wall and grab on climbing using the robot claws to keep his balance.

"Get away!" yelled Amy. The Sableye had dark ghostly eyes and there was a small dark light showing in the chest where the white light should've been.

Charley swung in the way of Amy's climb and grabbed onto the same ladder Amy was on. Amy smiled, and then attacked Charley! She attacked from behind using Faint Attack to get on the other side, and then jumped on Charley slamming her claws down on his head!

_SMACK!_ Charley lost his balance and started to fall forward on the ladder that aimed straight up, but regained his balance and turned to see Amy.

Amy had already climbed to the ceiling of the place. She smashed her claws against the ice crystal glass that blocked her way, and then pulled herself up. Charley managed to catch up to Amy. He grabbed her ankle and started to pull.

"Stop it!" Amy yelled, and then released another Ice Beam that dropped the robot down again. Amy staggered over to a side and lay down near a door. She didn't know what was happening, and she didn't know where to go. The ice she was sitting on was also thin and see-through-able, Amy saw Charley climbing up the ladders trying to get to where she was.

Amy climbed to her feet and started to walk to another door that was right next to her. She opened it and saw that it was just like the last door, suspended in air.

The only difference was that this room led to the other room with the long ice bridge. There were ice filled walls only with the bridge way down and the bottomless pit that followed. There were a couple of what looked like ice vines sticking out of the wall, but that's it. Suddenly, someone turned her around.

Charley stared deep into Amy's eyes as she struggled and screamed. His own eyes were a completely black color.

_Let… GO!_ Amy kicked Charley right where the black spot on his chest was, and then everything about him seemed to malfunction.

Like as if he was filled with rockets to fly, Charley just jumped outwards still holding Amy. It was at that moment that fire jetted out of his body everywhere and then slammed Amy against the wall on the other side. The force kept them on the wall without falling. Amy took this chance to slash Charley.

_SLASH!_ Amy made a scar across the robot Sableye's fire filled face. Charley jumped outward and aimed down. Without any support holding Amy, she started falling too scratching against the ice cave's wall.

"AH!" screamed Amy going all the way down. Up ahead was a vine sticking out. She was so close to it. Quickly, Amy got herself ready to grab it. As it passed her, she griped onto it tightly.

It started to pull out with the force of gravity being pulled on it. Amy tried holding on as hard as she could, then it broke free.

Amy screamed as she fell, she started to roll against the wall continuously unable to control her fall. There was a rock sticking out ahead of her. Amy could just faintly see it. She again started to think of a way to grab it. She calculated the time she would most likely hit the rock. Just as she was about to grab it, she was flipped by the wall again making her back smack against it.

"UH!" Amy cried in pain. She flipped outward and was just a few feet above the ice bridge when…

_CRACK! SMASH!_

Charley blasted right through the bridge breaking it down. Apparently he had fallen down the bottomless pit, but was able to bring himself back up. He was covered in black liquid smoke. It ran down all over his body covering every detail on his Sableye form. Even his eyes.

Unbelievably, Charley was flying straight up. He came right by Amy. That's when Amy saw her chance.

She grabbed onto his now dark suit and kept hold as he flew straight up. Charley looked like he couldn't control his flight; he started to try and grab Amy, but she was too quick and always dodged away from his grabs. It was pretty easy to do that; the gravity was pulling down while they were flying up, and with force, it was like as if the gravity between both of them was no more. That's how she was able to dodge away; as long as she was holding onto Charley, she wouldn't fall.

The flight up was really hard to grasp. Amy was still holding onto Charley and Charley couldn't control his flight patterns. After a few seconds of heart pounding moments, Charley broke through the ceiling of the palace.

The room was dark blue and mixed with purple. Amy let go and landed on the ice as some of it cracked. Charley crashed on the ceiling of the new room they were in and then smashed down making another crack where he was. Amy no longer paid attention to Charley as she saw what was in the center. A _real_ Sableye, and above about five feet higher, a human, naked.

Robot Sableye Charley was starting to try and stand, but its foot was smashed and unable to be used. Amy walked right over to the glowing center with the floating Sableye. There was a white glow coming right out of the bottom and covering around his feet. Amy could tell the Sableye was male, all Pokémon could tell the difference between their genders. The white glow kept a constant circle around him, and there was another white glow connecting him to the human above, that was also apparently male. White light scaled all around the human, but Amy could still see all of his contents.

Amy walked close to the Sableye. "Hey," she started, "can you hear me?"

The Sableye's jewel eyes flickered giving away that he was starting to notice Amy. Amy sighed. She went by him and started to pull him away from the light.

"No," Amy heard the Sableye reply, "stop, please, save Alex instead…"

Amy got confused a little. "Aren't _you_ Alex?" she asked.

The Sableye shook his head. "My name is Ghost," the Sableye tried to say through a very scratchy voice, "please; it's not worth it for me, save Alex…"

Right then, a claw grabbed Amy and pushed her away. There was Charley's robot Sableye form staring menacingly at her. His leg was smashed stopping any chance of him running, but Amy could see in the dark form that it was pissed off. Charley started to slowly walk and drag his leg towards Amy, he had his broken off leg in his clawed right hand smacking it against his other.

Amy had a terrified look in her face. She looked behind Charley and saw Ghost still there in hopeless thoughts. Quickly, Amy threw an Ice Beam across the floor and tripped the robot Sableye. With the little fire that was on Charley, Amy ran over to him and pushed that side against the ground, then started to claw away at Charley.

Amy attacked like as if she had just lost her family, her vision of what happened that night started to rush back to her, but she didn't care, she just clawed away at Charley with tears in her eyes. Slice after slice getting rid of some of his medal, the ground was shattering little by little.

"NO!" yelled Ghost that was still floating in the spot, "you're not suppose to kill him! That's Alex's only way out!"

Amy didn't listen to what Ghost was saying, she continued to claw at Charley breaking every piece of medal on him away until he was nothing more. Amy still had tears in her eyes, she couldn't take away the image she had done, and the flashback of the past…

* * *

"Amy," said the little Sneasel's mother, "go and hide!" Amy's mother was whispering in the ice cave. Her mother had a terrified face on her. Without hesitation, Amy ran to the opposite side and hid under a rack placed by the Team Rocket members just big enough for her to squeeze under. She waited terrified right there, looking to see what was going to happen next.

A bunch of Team Rocket members were checking the area, whenever they saw a Pokémon, they would battle it then capture it. Amy was in too much fear, she was crying hoping for the Rockets to stop and leave.

A bunch of them were all inside and using poison types, fire types, and flying types. The Pokémon that lived in the cave could take down their poison and flying, but the fire types are the ones that gave them all the weak ability to attack.

Amy waited under the support covering from the rack to keep her hidden, there were many rocket members walking around the area she was in. that meant only one thing: Amy was trapped.

Amy could hear the Rocket members fighting about something, but she didn't really listen. After a few moments, some other Rocket members came ran right over to them. They had a serious expression on their faces. The rest of the Rockets turned and looked at them.

"We've got a bad situation here," said the Rocket member that came. The others just started to talk to each other about how bad it could be.

"HEY!" yelled the one that said they had bad news, "listen up, Elite Four member Lorelei is here, with the new champion."

Some Rocket members gasped at that. "Yes, it's that bad. We can't be here anymore, we have to move out. Grab as many Pokémon as you can and let's leave."

The members moved quickly picking up equipment and the other supplies they left. A Team Rocket member passed right by Amy and picked up the rack. Amy hid in the far side and kept in the darkness as the rack was taken away.

"Hey," shouted a Rocket member from the other side of the room, "look what I found!"

The Rocket member pulled out a Sneasel from the hiding spot it was at. It was struggling against them. It was Amy's brother.

"No!" said Amy silently and went into a fetal position and started crying. It wasn't loud enough for the members to hear, but she deeply wanted to cry a lot.

"Stop, put him down!" yelled another Sneasel, Amy's father, which was trapped in a cage already along with many other Pokémon that were caught by Team Rocket. The only Pokémon in Amy's family that wasn't in a cage were Amy's mother and Amy herself. Now the Team Rocket members were bringing a cage to put her brother in.

_No!_, thought Amy. She was so scared right there, no one was there to help her. Her brother struggled and screamed as the Rockets put him on a table and had a cage ready for him.

"We got to go," said another Rocket member as he carried another Sneasel already in a cage, Amy's mother.

Amy was frightened to the max. She was the only Pokémon in her family that was still not captured yet.

"Hold on," said the Rocket member at the table, "let me just get this little runt into this cage."

"No," replied the other member that told them to leave, "we need to get out of here now, it's too dangerous to stay at this moment. Get your equipment, leave the Sneasel, and let's go."

"I'm not leaving without this Sneasel," said the Rocket trying to put Amy's struggling brother into the cage. The other Rocket member sighed, got a gun out of his holster, and just shot the Sneasel on the table scaring everyone that was trying to get it in a cage.

Amy fell silent. The gunshot just changed everything, she felt weary. She couldn't believe what she had heard, and she didn't even want to look at what happened. A tear rolled down the Sneasel as she felt a life cord disconnect her from her brother, she couldn't move or speak. Flashbacks came to her of the times she had spent with her brother, the playful times, but nothing could hide what she felt right there. Amy stopped breathing and let her sadness take over. Tear after tear came by now, she didn't cry in yelling or screaming, but she felt a lot of pain inside her.

_Just one death could destroy someone forever._

Amy looked to the side and continued her crying, she didn't know where that thought about death came from, but she didn't care because she knew it was true.

"Now pick everything up," continued the Rocket member, "and let's go." The Team Rocket member had a mean stern face staring at the other Rocket member that still had the Sneasel's head in his arm. He dropped the Sneasel and looked at the Rocket member that shot Amy's brother.

"Okay," he said, and then helped pick up everything, and leave. After a few minutes, the Team Rocket members ran out of the cave hall and left only two Pokémon behind, Amy and her dead brother.

Amy slowly walked out of her hiding place she was at and ran to her brother.

"Snep!" Amy screamed. Her brother, Snep, was just staring with a dead face at the ceiling of the cave. "Snep, please, don't go!"

Amy ran and jumped right where her brother was at. She brought his head and put it over her legs as she sat down and started to rock back and forth with the dead Sneasel on her legs.

"Please," Amy cried, "don't leave me!" tear after tear came down her cheeks. Snep didn't move or do anything at all. "Please! Snep I'm the only one you have now!"

No movements at all. Amy cried in the silence of the cave as long as she could. She never stopped holding Snep. Her tears always landed on his, no one heard her crying in the halls of the cave, and no one cared. Amy cried as hard as she could, never letting go of Snep's head.

_Why? Why did they have to kill him! Will anybody help me!_

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" screamed Amy at the top of her Sneasel lungs. Never had she cried so hard before, never had she felt the pain she felt before, and she would never be able to relieve her pain. Snep was dead; nothing was ever going to change that. Not one thing could change what happened. _Nothing._

Amy dragged Snep's body over to a wall and laid him down there. She hugged him hard, his chest giving away blood and bringing it to Amy's. She didn't want to let go. She thought that one hug could make all the difference, and bring him back…

But nothing can stop death, nothing will ever stop death. Amy sat down right next to Snep. She sat and didn't do anything. Darkness went through the entire cave now.

_Why? Everything was going good, we all were living happy… why did this happen? My entire life is here… I lived with my brothers and sisters, I never did anything wrong… I'm a good girl, I don't deserve to be left helpless, why did they all leave me?_

Amy rested her head next to her brother, and tried to imagine that he was alive. She tried to imagine he was resting his head against hers too, saying it'll all be alright. She tried to imagine being reassured by her brother that nothing had happened, that the Rocket members never came, that most of the Pokémon didn't leave, didn't get captured, didn't _die_.

_I don't deserve being left behind, I'm always good. Nothing bad should've ever happened to me… I helped my family survive, how could this happen to me? How could I have let this happen to me? Why did they pick me to do this to? I'm a good Pokémon, I never did anything to hurt anybody, I just did what I was told, maybe just played with my friends, but nothing that could have punished me… why was I picked?_

Amy got up from her sitting position, and looked at her brother. She cried with tears just standing and staring.

"I'll," Amy started, but sniffed as she said it, "I'll—help y—you one day, Sn—Snep. Don't—don't forget m—me, okay?"

The dead Sneasel didn't respond or shake, but Amy felt that he understood and said okay. Amy turned and started to walk away, each step dropping a teardrop all the way.

* * *

Amy looked at her hands. She was holding chunks of what was left of Charley, just robotic remains. Charley's robot body was scattered all over the floor, Amy had a tear in her eye as the events just flashed right by her. She couldn't believe what she remembered, out of all her memories; it was that one that had to play through her mind, the one that broke her to pieces when she was a child, the one she dreaded to ever remember. Amy threw the scraps of metal in her hands to the floor and turned around to face Ghost.

"That was the only way Alex could be saved, why did you do that?" asked Ghost.

Amy looked at herself and then did a simple shrug. "I can still get you out, Ghost," said Amy running up to Ghost.

"No," said Ghost, still floating in the white area provided. "You can't. The only way to save us is to save only one of us, and that one was supposed to go in _that_ body you just destroyed."

"I can still save you Ghost," said Amy.

Ghost shook his head. "No," he said, and then he pointed with one claw behind Amy. "Look."

Amy turned around and saw a bright light at the end that was coming down slowly. It came and landed right in front of Amy, then wrapped around her.

"It's too late," said Ghost.

"No!" yelled Amy as she was pulled away, "I can still save you, Ghost! Just let me—" she didn't get to finish, at that moment, the light took her away fast, and then she vanished with it.

* * *

A light appeared and started to come out of the Sableye. In a few seconds, a Sneasel fell right out of the light and onto the floor, gasping for air.

The Sneasel had cuts all over her; she looked at her claws then back at Charley.

"No!" she screamed. Amy, the Sneasel, hit the handle edge of the bed with her claws breaking it.

"Wow," started Charley, "what's wrong Amy?"

Amy walked over to a drawer and kicked it. She then leaned against it and looked at her claws.

"He was right there," she said silently, "I could've saved him, he was right there…"

Amy started to remember what happened in just a few minutes, and then she looked at Ghost. She sighed and put her head down and away from the shaking Sableye; it was hard not to get rid of the image she saw…

Amy turned and looked at the Sableye again; Ghost shook violently, and then after a few seconds, stopped. A flash came from his body, it was white. The light formed all around Ghost, then started to take a shape. A _human_ shape. After a few seconds, there was no more Sableye under the covers, but a human instead. Alex.

Alex opened his eyes in fear. Got to a sitting position and looked around the room. It was then that he noticed he wasn't wearing any clothes. He started to blush, and pulled the covers more over him.

"_Are you okay, Alex?_" asked Ghost. Alex completely forgot that he was part of Ghost's mind now; he sat up again, and took the quilt that was covering his body with him.

Charley and Nini got in his way. "We know what you want to do," said Nini.

"And we won't let you," continued Charley.

Alex tried to get passed them, but they blocked him. "We're not goanna let you do it, Alex." Nini started.

"Get out of my way," replied Alex, "you don't understand, I _need_ to do this."

Charley stopped him right as Alex was about to pass him. "No, the curse wants you to do this, don't fall for its tricks, Alex."

Alex sighed. Then, he felt something in his quilt. He opened it to where only he could see inside, and then smiled. He reached inside, and then took out a shotgun with Pokéballs engraved into the sides. This is exactly what Nini and Charley were trying to prevent.

He aimed the gun at both Charley and Nini. "I would like to pass, please," Alex said.

Charley and Nini were now scared. It was never really right there when they would see the gun, it was always hidden somewhere, like a bush, or a wardrobe. Technically, it was hidden by Alex's quilt, but that was a little bit too easy.

"You wouldn't do it. Alex, don't do it." Nini tried to plead.

Alex smacked the shotgun against Nini's face, and then used the opening she made right there to run right passed her.

"Alex!" yelled Charley. Alex turned and aimed the shotgun at Charley and shot. It missed, and Alex ran right out of the room with the quilt wrapped around him.

"C'mon," started Charley, "we got to stop him! The rest of you Pokémon, follow me!"

Zap, Houndour, Umbreon, Amy, and Nini followed after Charley who was now going on full pursuit. Charley and Nini were yelling Alex's name as they followed the half naked boy down the hall. Quickly, Alex turned and ran into a room and closed the door, locking it behind him.

Charley ran and slammed against the door, but it didn't budge. Charley was frustrated; he turned and looked at Houndour, and then had an idea.

"Houndour," Charley started. He pointed at the door.

Houndour looked at it, and then understood what Charley was trying to get across.

"Sure," started Houndour, "I can give it a shot."

Houndour took a deep breath, and fired the door. The door flew forward knocking away some splinters as it blasted. Charley ran in along with Nini and they started to shout Alex's name. They all heard a shotgun cock ready, and froze.

"Alex!" yelled Nini looking around, "don't do this! You have your whole life ahead of you!"

Amy climbed over a table and used her claws to turn on the lights. There standing in front of a couch, was Alex with a shotgun in his hands.

"Alex, don't do this!" yelled Charley. He ran passed the entrance hall of the room and over the couch. Just as he was about to reach for the gun, Alex pointed it to his own head.

_BAM!_


	20. Wierd

Sorry for my little disappearance, writing is starting to get slower for me for small problems I'm facing, but I will put up chapters as fast as I can. I don't really have time for this website anymore, but I'll try and type for this story. And I might disappear again due to it being near Christmas, so enjoy this chapter which was going to be longer, but I decided not. You all have been waiting long enough, right? This chapter features three new charectors, enjoy.

**Chapter 20: Weird**

Charley stood shocked at the sight before him. Alex fell to his knees and had a deathly expression on his face. It showed lost hope, it showed death itself.

A portal opened behind Alex and started to suck everything in. Charley fell onto the couch and shielded his eyes. Charley didn't want to see the gruesome and terrifying sight of Alex's dead body as Alex's right eye stared a cold stare at Charley. Charley could only gaze in shock.

The portal started to wrap around Alex leaving Charley to just watch. It started to tear up Alex's body, and slowly pull it away. Alex disintegrated and left ashes behind him, then the rest of his disintegrated self flew into the portal and it closed behind him, leaving a big spot of ashes.

Suddenly, the ashes started to move. In a few seconds, a Sableye came right out of it.

"Uh…" it started to groan, "What happened?" the Sableye was speaking in its own language, of course.

Charley regained control of being pushed by the force and got up and turned around. Nini was by the wall covering her mouth with her hands and Zap right next to her feet, wondering what happened to his trainer. The Umbreon and Houndour were extremely confused at what they just saw, and Amy stood at the corner just giving the same stare.

Charley faced the Sableye. He kneeled down to eye level with the Pokémon. "You okay, Ghost?"

Ghost was surprised a little. "I don't remember Alex giving away my name…" he muttered to himself.

Nini walked right beside Charley and looked directly at the hall they entered from. "Charley," she started, "we got to go back up on deck. I don't know what idiotic reason made you want to butt in on another person's misery with the curse, but right now we just got to get out of here. I have—err—had something that could've helped destroy the curse—well—oh never mind! The point is, we got to go, now."

"You didn't need to explain it," said Charley, "I would've followed you out the first time asked Nini, or as you like to be called, Jenny."

"Please, call me Jenny."

Charley got up and started to motion for the Sableye to follow. "C'mon, we'll find Alex soon."

Just as Charley and Nini turned around, the rest of the Pokémon (except for Amy) all blocked their path.

"You know," started Zap, "two humans that can understand Pokémon language and know others name's _before_ they ever met them is not something I'd see normal in a human."

The other Pokémon nodded showing that they too were wondering about that. Well, probably only the part about them being able to speak human.

"That's their problem," started Amy, "and I don't think it's right to just butt-in on something that doesn't concern you, Zap."

"Another fact, I don't remember telling _you_ my name."

Amy looked at Charley for an excuse. Charley was the one that had told her about all that was happening when they were walking in the hall to get to the room before where the Jolteon, Smeargle, Houndour, and Umbreon were put in cages. Amy wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, but she did remember Charley giving out some names.

"Charley told me your name," Amy replied.

"Another reason for suspicion," said the Jolteon. "Now I ask everyone on behalf of Alex who also tried to find Charley, what the hell is going on?"

Charley stared with cold eyes at Zap. He understood why he would wonder, but he didn't want to be telling _everyone_ he met about him. He sighed as soon as he realized that Zap also did disserve to know about the curse since his trainer was now apart of it.

"Okay," started Charley, "I'll tell you everything."

* * *

"Where was the last you saw them?" asked a guard. He was standing right near the doorway leading to the top deck of the ship where the captain had commanded everyone to be. Since the radio was down and every source of electricity seemed to go out, there was only one thing left to do: abandon ship. The life boats of the _S.S. Tidal_ were good enough to take a few people off the ship, but not for all. The plan was to find another ship cruising the sea and get them to come back for the rest of the people on the ship.

"I don't know," replied the bleeding Rocket member dressed as a security guard sitting on the bed of the room as the ship doctors tried to stop the bleeding from his side, "they just came and attacked. They probably went to the front of ship to get something, I don't know!"

"Calm down, Henry," said the guard at the door, "we just wanted to know where you were. Apparently we found a girl way below in one of the rooms, but nothing more. I just want to confirm if that was one of the people you saw or someone else entirely."

Henry moved away as the doctor got a needle and was getting ready to shove it in him. "How 'm I suppose to know? Look, just go down there and do a search for them, alright?"

The guard at the door nodded. "Can do." He started to run out of the door and call out a couple of other cleverly disguised Rockets and started to make a search party for two people that were still below, along with a feeling that they'd fond more people to get rid of as they continued their plans for the night. Or morning, it was three o'clock already, there were tired people scattered all around the boat.

_Hope those two can handle themselves_, thought Henry.

"Does this hurt right here," a doctor asked touching Henry's side.

"Ow! Yes!" Henry snapped at him.

* * *

The apparently Rocket members were taking Jill down a large ship hall as she struggled out of their grasp. They held her still as they walked up to an end leading to a staircase room going up and down stairs. The Rockets entered one at a time and slowly started their walk up, when one of the Rockets stopped them.

"Wait," he said, "I heard something down there."

The others looked down the spiral staircase and saw just the bottom and nothing more. The rest were confused.

"You sure?" asked one of the Rockets.

"Yes, I heard it," replied the Rocket.

"I'll bet," Jill muttered. The Rocket members ignored her and grabbed pistols from their holsters and aimed down trying to see anything. Nothing moved.

"Let's go down," said one of the main Rockets. "If we find something, better for us."

The Rockets started to reload their weapons and took Jill with them down the stairs. Every now and then, a small scrape would be heard and the Rockets would start a small grunt, but nothing really happened. They reached the bottom and looked around.

"Nothing," said a Rocket. He looked up and sighed. "Well, let's go back."

_Clang._ The Rockets turned around and aimed their weapons to the sound. A small can slowly rolled away from under the staircase.

"He-he, I think we've found a Pokémon," said one of the Rockets. He walked over to the side of the stairs and looked through the darkness of the underside. He was getting a flashlight from his shirt and aimed it in the space. "Come on out little Pokémon."

_SMACK!_ The Rocket was thrown back and fell onto the floor dazed at what just happened. With the lights still out, there was a blur as something ran through the stairs and hid somewhere else.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled a Rocket and they started to run for the stairs. A blur passed the Rocket in the lead, then vanished into the shadows. A small rip was heard, and then the man stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Jill not wanting to know what was happening with the blurs. Slowly, the Rocket member turned around to reveal himself, and everyone made horrified gasps.

There was a slash right across his chest; blood flowed through hitting the ground as it drizzled from his shirt. The Rocket fell onto his knees and stared at the rest, almost expecting to be helped or something.

Another blur came by, then a crack was heard right above everyone. They all turned and looked up to see the staircase above them was about to give way and land on them!

Jill used her elbow to knock the wind out of the Rocket member holding her, and then she jumped over the not-so-high ledge and to the bottom. The stairs broke away and landed on top of the Rockets, leaving them all screaming. Jill tried to get up, but her handcuffs were still on tight. She had made a dive with her hands tied behind her back and had landed on the hardwood floor. Jill just rolled away up to a wall, and then pushed against it to get up. She looked at the stairs that were now crushing the Rockets and then looked around her. She was trying to hide from whatever was trying to kill the Rockets. The blur came right in front of her, and then stopped, showing what it truly was.

Jill almost fell back as it formed it front of her in just two seconds. It was a…

* * *

The sea showed darkness. Black was the only color in the stars that night, and there was no boat in sight. The water was calm with small waves that went in all directions, but nothing else. Then, about fifty feet above the water level in the sky, a light burst open.

Light flew in all directions showing dark seas, not even water Pokémon were out there. The light flashed like a bunch of fireworks that just went off, then through a Pokémon that started to fall from the sky. It was yelling as the wind passed its body, the light that it jumped out of vanished leaving darkness again. The Pokémon still yelled, and with a painful splash, landed in the pool of darkness.

After a few seconds underwater, its head poked out and it started gasping for air and kicking at nothing trying to get out of the water. There was nothing for it to hold onto.

"Help me!" yelled the purple Pokémon in its own language, the jewel eyes just flashing away with the moonlit sky. "Anybody out there! Please, I need some help!" as much as it wanted to hear something, nothing came to the sound. That's when it finally realized its hands.

The Pokémon looked at the small claws sticking out on the end, and then looked at its body. Most of it wasn't visible in the dark water, but it knew what it expected to see.

_I'm a… Sableye..._

The ghost-type continued his stare in his hands, and then saw his own reflection in the water he was in.

_No… I'm Ghost…_

The Sableye looked up to the sky and saw the darkness and very few stars to go with the bright moon. Then, he howled to the sky, of what in human language, he would be saying an extended version of the word, 'no.'

* * *

Amy sat at the corner as she listened to what happened to Charley before once again. Zap, Houndour, and Umbreon seemed to want to listen to more since this was all new news to them.

"And now," Charley concluded, "Alex is back to the exact spot he was cursed in. That's where we're going."

Ghost was another that wasn't really paying attention. Yes, he also didn't know hell about what was going on, but he didn't really even care. Just like Amy originally didn't care when Charley first told her.

"So what do we do when we find him?" asked Zap.

"When we find him," started Charley, "we'll make sure he does exactly what I did to get back to human form. To make that part actually work, we also got to protect him from cursing anybody else. It does get tempting, but if he does, there's a slight chance that he loses to the curse. Then, his life will be in darkness forever."

Zap got up from his resting position on the floor. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go save Alex."

"As simple as it sounds, Zap, it's not," replied Nini. "I mean, I did the same thing and I'm _still_ in a human body. Charley's case was special, but for the rest of us, it's really hard."

"Does that really matter?" asked Ghost. "Right now, Alex is somewhere out there probably scared like shit. If I were him, I'd be only concentrating on surviving. Both you and Charley were cursed before, and I can bet that the first thing both of you did on your second chance was not sit around and morn about what happened to you, but find a way to survive it. Then, maybe when you were safe, you cried yourself to sleep."

Nini looked to the ground and took in everything Ghost said. She turned to Charley and saw that he too felt it. Ghost was right, while they were talking about how to fix Alex, he was trying to survive the crises and was the only one actually doing something to try and get out of his current situation.

"Well," started Charley, "we don't have a great master plan, Ghost, but we know what we're doing right now will save Alex later. Alex is in this position right now because curiosity seemed to have killed the cat; he didn't have any plans on what could end up happening to him, he didn't have any plan at all. The difference between now and then is that we're making one so that fate doesn't give us a bad position later. This in turn will save Alex."

"Alright," Amy cut-in, "let's not start a dialogue fight. We're all here to help Alex, and we'll do it now, with or without a plan."

"I'd prefer 'with' please," said Charley.

"Yeah, but Ghost is kind of right too," said Amy. "As long as we don't know where Alex could have gone with all our talking, we're pretty screwed with plans. Now our main priority is to save Alex, so let's leave this discussion and split up for the search."

"There's no need for a search," Nini started, "he was cursed in the ship's middle area restroom, he'll probably be right there."

Amy turned and faced Charley. "Is this true?" she asked.

"Well—uh—yeah, it is," said Charley.

"Good," replied Amy, "now we should be going."

"There's a human coming around the corner," spoke Umbreon at last.

Houndour got up and listened with his ears going up. "Yeah, I hear the footsteps. Someone's definitely coming."

Charley turned and looked at Amy and Zap to try and get them to confirm if they heard anything.

"I hear them too," said Zap. Amy swiftly went right next to the door and took a peak trying to see. She stepped back and went up to Zap. "Yup, but I can't tell if it's a friend or foe."

"Quick everyone," whispered Nini, "hide!"

Nini pulled Charley behind the bed and they both kneeled down. Umbreon went up to Houndour and used Faint Attack to make them disappear from the room. Amy pulled Ghost and they both ran to the side and out of sight behind a dresser that wasn't pushed against the wall and Zap hid under the couch that Charley had fell on when Alex was taken away.

The sound was growing, and in a few seconds, someone walked into the room. No one could see who it was, but they saw that it was clearly a male as he walked in, and started to look around the room. The man walked right next to the closet door, and opened it. There was darkness inside. He turned around, and caught a glimpse of a pile of dirt on the floor.

The man walked right up to the dirt; his feet were directly in view of Zap. The man bent down and touched the dirt.

"Ashes…" said the man, "someone here was cursed… it couldn't have been Charley… could it?"

At the mere mention of his name, Charley looked through the side of the bed, and then got out of his hiding place.

"Darry?" asked Charley.

The man turned around and revealed himself. Indeed, he was Darry.

* * *

_A Smeargle! The entire Team Rocket band that had me captured was destroyed by a little extremely stealthy Smeargle!_

Jill was just speechless. Shocked to the bone. She couldn't put that small little fact that just happened right before her eyes.

The Smeargle crossed its arms. "Gle. Smeargle smear mear gle," it said.

"Huh?" said Jill aloud.

The Smeargle sighed and grabbed its tail. It walked right up to Jill, and then turned her around.

"Hey, what are you doing!" yelled Jill. Smeargle just ignored her. The Smeargle brushed its tail against Jill's back, and then in a few seconds the handcuffs broke free. Jill brought her hands up to her face and started to rub them. There was a small scar on her right hand showing the handcuff had slid and hurt her. After a few seconds, Jill turned back to the Smeargle who was still waiting right by the wall for a 'thanks.'

"Uh—thank you," called out Jill. Jill then ran right over to the pile of Rocket members on the floor near the fallen staircase and started shuffling through them. She stopped right over one of the members and started reaching around him, searching for something. After a few seconds, she took out five Pokéballs from a Team Rocket member and put four in her belt. She held the fifth one in her hands. The Smeargle that saved her walked right up to her and stared at the Pokéball in her hands. "No one is ever going to steal you guys again," said Jill. "I promise."

Jill pressed the small button on the top of the Pokéball, but nothing happened.

"Huh?" asked Jill confused. She looked at the Pokéball and examined it. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it; it was just a normal Pokéball. Jill was a little upset about this. "Skarmory, go!" Jill threw the small Pokéball and it clanged against the floor. No flashing lights appeared; it just slowly rolled away…

_What's going on here?_

Jill ran over to the Pokéball and picked it up. _There's nothing wrong with the outside, so why isn't anything coming out?_

"Smear, gle gle gle Smeargle," said the Smeargle, as it took the Pokéball from Jill's hand and started to examine it.

"Hey, be careful with that!" yelled Jill. The Smeargle ignored her and started to use its tail as a tool to try and get the button open. After a few seconds, the button flipped off revealing wires going around everywhere in the inside shell. Carefully, the Smeargle put the ball on the floor and started to mess around with the wires. Blue and green colored wires crisscrossed as Smeargle formed them together, cutting them up and putting them back jointly. Then, in short seconds, a light came right out and a Skarmory formed in front of Jill.

"Skar!" yelled the Skarmory. Jill was too shocked to say anything. What she just saw, was like watching an innocent dog fix a super power nuclear war weapon!

"Okay," said Jill, "now I've seen _everything_."

The Smeargle gave a small chuckle to itself about what Jill said. The Skarmory waited right besides Jill for any orders from its master.

"Okay Skarmory, let's go," yelled Jill. "Team Rocket is here on this boat and they won't stop until they have what they want. What they want is a couple of cursed people, what they don't know is that there is only one person on this ship that is cursed, and his name is Charley. Our job is simple; make sure they don't make it to Charley, understood?"

The Skarmory nodded and then roared out in the room. "Alright, you random Smeargle that just saved me, would you like to help us?"

"Smeargle gle smear smear smeargle," said the Smeargle rolling its eyes, but then nodded.

"Alright then, let's start our search!" yelled Jill, as Skarmory and Smeargle both yelled in agreement, then started their run out of the staircase room and into the hall.

* * *

"Alright guys, be ready for any Team Aqua scum you see," said Venn, the Team Rocket lieutenant that was taking orders. She raised her Assault Rifle, and as soon as she did, her comrades did the same. "Watch your back, our team is still down there but they may be getting in skirmishes with the Aqua members, keep your gun aimed around every corner and don't let yourself get killed."

Her six Team Rocket team members nodded as they too carried Assault Rifles and were ready for action. Since nobodies Pokéballs worked, they had to resort to old killing where people were killed by other people, instead of other people's Pokémon. Why were they going to kill? Simple. They were on a very famous cruise ship right now and were ready with a license to kill a horrifying curse that was said to live in an ancient myth only. This curse could affect anyone, so anyone could just turn against them and start their own killing spree. As bad as Team Rocket was, they weren't going to let people kill each other and eventually lead to the fall of the world. That's why they were given orders to now either capture or kill any human or Pokémon that was cursed. Their job to the world seemed real evil, but the world didn't know the truth about Team Rocket. Team Rocket was actually always the one to _save_ the world, not destroy it. Their intentions on that were always leading to bad things, but imagine what would happen when they didn't interfere. There goes the entire world, and when they do, they're considered the most evil organization ever. The people of Team Rocket aren't the nicest pair, and they always come up with ways to rule the world, but why? That's simple, because they didn't want anyone else to step up and try to do the same. If Team Rocket is so strong, why is it that even an amateur trainer can beat their darkest plans? Team Rocket is evil, they will always be evil, but their outcome for what they really want is something that helps the world out. For instance, what's happening right now. They're about to kill an innocent either human or Pokémon, but what would happen if they didn't? This is a cycle that they're trying to stop, they want to stop this curse once and for all, and the only way is to capture or kill the infected. If not, the curse would continue, and the world would be destroyed for good. This is why they were on the ship. Team Rocket had no idea what Team Aqua planned to do, but they weren't going to wait and find out.

"Everyone ready?" asked Venn. Her companions nodded in agreement. "Alright, now let's go!"

Venn kicked open a door leading down into the ship. It was completely dark with nothing in view. As each one of the Team Rocket members marched down the stairs, they turned on their little light on the front of the gun to see. The metal stairs led down to a three-way hall.

The team stopped right at the bottom and started pointing their guns in the opposite halls trying to see if they can find anything moving, but to no avail. Venn turned and looked to the left.

"Alright," Venn called out, "we'll split up right here. Two, two, and three, got it? We've all got twenty minutes to search the halls we get, after that we meet four floors below at this same position. Alright, now let's move now!"

When Venn had said 'two, two, and three,' she had pointed to who went with whom. So, the teams split up and started their search for the evil cursed, and probably kill whoever was infected by it. The hunt began.

* * *

"You're alive," said Charley. Darry stood there and smiled. The four Pokémon came out of their hiding place and Nini walked over to Charley and Darry. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then started to talk.

"Nice to see you made it," said Nini. She continued her stare and Darry returned the stare back.

"Yeah," replied Darry. They seemed to know something that Charley and the other Pokémon weren't seeing.

"How did you make it out?" asked Nini.

"I ran," answered Darry. Now they were at a complete staring contest with each other, none of them were looking at each other like they wanted a little chitchat.

"What about the Smeargle?" asked Nini.

Darry shrugged. "He ran the other way."

"I find that impossible," said Nini, "but welcome back anyways." She extended her hand expecting Darry to shake it. By looking reluctant, Darry took the hand and shook it.

"What's going on between you two?" asked Charley.

Darry shook away the stare and turned to Charley. He had his eyes fixed on Charley now.

"Nothing," he said. Jill nodded still staring, but then also shook it away. Charley was a little curious now. It wasn't really like Darry to act like that, but then again, they _were_ being hunted by a curse. Anything can happen now.

"So," started Darry, "what's going on now?"

Whatever Nini had seen in Darry, Charley was now seeing it too. Somehow, Darry seemed a little different. Not in appearance, but something was telling Charley that Darry had changed someway.

"We were deciding on a plan to save Alex," said Charley.

"Right," confirmed Nini.

"Okay," said Darry, "well what do you got so far?"

"So far, we know Alex is somewhere in this ship," replied Charley.

"What else do you know?" asked Darry.

"Nothing," said Nini.

"Well shouldn't we be looking for him then?" asked Darry.

"We should," replied Charley.

"Well then, let's go find him. Nothing's goanna happen if we stay here," said Darry.

"He's right," cut in Zap. "We need to find Alex as fast as we can. If he's alive somewhere, then we need to find him."

"I agree, we can't stay any longer," said Ghost.

"We got their approval, let's go," said Darry.

Charley started to agree, but then Nini cut in.

"Since when do you talk to Pokémon?"

Darry was token back by the question. For awhile, it looked like he was looking for an excuse for the question, but then started to talk again.

"I don't know, I guess something happened when the curse took me."

Nini had a face saying she wasn't buying it.

"We are going to have to talk about this later," said Charley, "for now, we do need to find Alex. I give in with the plan part, let's just talk about this later like Amy said and find Alex. It couldn't be that hard, right?"

Nini and Darry started another staring contest, but then stopped and sighed with an expression saying 'no, it can't'.

"Alright, I'm tired of this," said Zap. "I'm leaving to find Alex." He ran out of the room. Amy hesitated in following, but then ran out too. Houndour and Umbreon looked at the trainers, then followed Zap and Amy.

"I'm going, come on guys," said Charley, and then ran out the door and into the hall leaving Darry and Nini behind with themselves.

"You're uh, you're not Darry, are you?" asked Nini.

Darry made a face of 'what do you mean', but then said, "of course I am, why would you ask that?"

Nini shrugged and passed him. "I have my doubts," she said, then walked out into the hall to go with the rest. Darry stared for awhile, and then followed them out.

* * *

The ghost-type stayed afloat with small noticeable tears in his eyes. The water felt cold, but he didn't really seem to mind it at all anymore. He couldn't tell whether his vision was clearer or loosen, but he didn't really care.

"I hope I did the right thing," he said. The water was going all around his body, he could feel it. There were small disturbances in the water, but nothing too critical for him to fight about. He didn't even want to think about it. The Sableye pushed himself under the water, and didn't even take a breath. He just stayed out of view, and had a small hope of dieing.

He couldn't hold his breath any longer, but he still fought against himself hoping not to survive. His vision became blurry, and he was about to lose conscious, until something came and brought him up to the surface.

The Sableye coughed out water unable to handle holding his breath. When he looked around him, he saw a Lapras.

"Alright, take a breath," said a voice, but it wasn't from the Lapras, it was from the trainer that was standing on it while also having made room for the Sableye to be pulled up.

_Who would be out this late?_, thought the Sableye.

"Lapras, is it alright?" asked the trainer.

The Lapras looked at the Sableye that had gotten to a sitting position, and then started to speak to him in their language.

"Are you okay?" asked the Lapras.

The Sableye stared in awe at the Lapras, but didn't respond until five seconds later. "Well, yeah, but why did you save me?"

Now the Lapras looked at the Sableye surprised, with the trainer tripping and falling into the water. The trainer climbed back onto the Lapras and stared at the Sableye.

"What's your name, Sableye?" he asked.

"Alex," said the Sableye, "but what's wrong?"

The trainer sighed in relief for some reason, and so did his Lapras. He turned to the Lapras. "Well, is he alright?"

The Lapras nodded.

"Okay, now why did you save me?" asked Alex. The trainer fell over the Lapras again and the Lapras got that surprised look. The trainer climbed back on and stared at Alex shocked.

"Don't trick us if you know how to talk," said the trainer.

"What?" asked Alex. He was a little confused now.

"Pick one language to talk in, because that just caught us off guard!" said the trainer.

"You do realize you were talking in human language, then switched to Pokémon, then back to human, right?" asked the Lapras.

"Huh?" asked Alex. "What are you talking about?"

"Now you talk in Pokémon?" asked the trainer.

"I'm not changing languages!" yelled Alex.

"Yeah you are," said the Lapras, "right now you just said 'I'm not' in Pokémon, then 'changing languages' in human."

The water's wavy strength came and pushed against them all pulling the Lapras up and down the entire time. In just a few seconds, the water seemed to calm down and they came into still water.

Still, Alex had to wonder about what the trainer and Pokémon were telling him. What he heard was just his normal speech, yet they were all telling him he was speaking both ways, Pokémon and human.

"I don't understand, right now I'm speaking my normal language," said Alex.

"No, you're speaking Pokémon right now," said the Lapras.

"Well it's not like I want to talk Pokémon, it's just coming out like that!" yelled Alex.

"You're speaking Pokémon again," said the Lapras.

This was starting to frustrate Alex; first he start's to hear Pokémon, and now he's a Sableye with two languages!

The trainer took out his Pokédex and aimed it at Alex. In a few seconds, the light went on showing his face and then he started to read the information.

"Wild," said the trainer. "You're a wild Pokémon? How'd you learn to talk?"

"I'm not even supposed to _be_ a Pokémon!" yelled Alex again.

"What are you talking about?" asked the Lapras.

"Can you please speak in human language, por favor?" asked the trainer.

"I don't even know how I'm speaking in Pokémon language!" Alex was definitely frustrated about this now. "I'm suppose to be a human right now, but I'm my Pokémon… it's really starting to freak me out."

"English please?" asked the trainer. A wave came and moved the Lapras into another position on the ocean.

"I don't know how to speak English!" yelled Alex.

"That's really interesting, because that's what the language you just spoke to me in is called!" said the trainer.

This was definitely going to be a very strange night now. Alex sighed and looked away into the sea, and wondered what had ever happened to his Pokémon, Ghost.


	21. Recruits

At last! New chap! Well, thischapter wasn't really fun to write and not really interesting, but oh well. oh, and Pokémon: Survival will be out sometime this month! Thanks for the comment Ezekel.

**Chapter 21: Recruits**

Jill walked through the empty dark halls of the ship as it rocked around floating in the ocean, with only her Skarmory and her new companion, Smeargle, following behind.

Just ahead, there was a door leading to stairs going up. Jill turned to face her two Pokémon and tried to think.

"Alright," said Jill as she turned to look at Skarmory and Smeargle, "we got to find a way out of here, that's for sure. Who knows how many Rockets are already out there. But we also need to know which path is safest."

Jill explained to the two Pokémon how she had gotten to her position. She told them about how Team Rocket took her Furret, Tumia, away from her and about her Sneasel going with Charley for some help.

"And now we're all separated," she finished. "As much as I'd like to find everyone, we have no idea where we even are. I don't even know if Charley is still inside the ship or somewhere above deck. So, I'm gonna need both of you to help pick a vote on what to do. Do you guys feel better if we stay and look for Charley and Sneasel, or do you guys prefer to go call for help? It would be useful if we had many people searching, but after seeing those Rockets, I don't know what to do anymore."

The two Pokémon looked at each other like trying to decide on what to do. It took some time, but finally they answered back to Jill.

Well, technically they just said their names which made Jill more confused and feel stupid for even asking the two, but just like before, Smeargle did something that yet again surprised both Jill and her Skarmory.

Smeargle broke a piece of the railing off and started to brush his tail against it. In just seconds, the pole ignited in flames on one end. Smeargle swung the pole in circles making an orange glow as he pushed it from one hand to the other making it look like he was putting on a fire show. Then, he aimed it at the wall and slashed away.

Burn marks appeared all over the places Smeargle passed the red marked end until finally it ended in only two words on the wall: get help.

Jill was stunned for a moment, but shook it off. She then faced Skarmory.

"Is this what you agreed to?" she asked the Pokémon.

Skarmory got confused wondering what his trainer wanted him to say, but the male Skarmory just did a silent unnoticed sigh and nodded hoping that was the answer his trainer wanted.

"Okay, majority rules," said Jill. She looked up the narrow stairs only to see darkness. "Let's go."

It didn't take long for the three to finally reach the top of the stairs, but it was completely dark. Nothing was visible at all. The only guidance was the railing leading up.

When they reached the top, Jill opened the door and looked around. It was another hallway, but more familiar. She motioned for Smeargle and Skarmory to follow her and they walked down more dark halls. It was dead silent.

Jill made her way into a bigger hall where most of the people in the ship used to be hanging out, but now it was empty.

_Where did everyone go?_ thought Jill.

They were in the main part of the ship, where everyone should've been until they arrived at the Battle Frontier, yet not a soul was around.

Jill noticed the restroom that Charley was concerned with when some employees of the ship were taking two trainers away and two Pokémon.

Curious, Jill started to walk to the restroom door. She pushed the door open and looked into darkness.

"Think you can provide a little light, Smeargle?" asked Jill.

Smeargle walked right in front of her and got his tail. He started whipping it around until light started to form, then the whole room filled, and it wasn't a pretty happy sight.

The restroom looked like it was the inside of an RV that was just flipped over several times. There were poles in the middle surrounding a whole with a yellow sign saying 'caution, do not cross' in all capitalized letters. The urinals were smashed to the ground and there were no walls to protect anyone from seeing the toilets.

"Wow," said Jill, "what happened here?"

Jill looked at the faucets and saw that one of them was completely totaled with the others perfect. The mirrors all had cracks across them.

That's when Jill noticed something on the other end of the restroom. Carefully, Jill walked passed the whole in the ground and made her way to what she found on the floor. It was a pair of clothing, for about someone in their teenage years. Then, she noticed a resemblance. She remembered a boy wearing the exact same clothes before she entered the ship, back at the Pokémon Center.

She moved her finger through the clothes, and then came across a belt. A belt carrying three Pokéballs.

"Hey Smeargle," Jill called.

Smeargle who was preoccupied by looking at the destruction of the room turned to face Jill.

"Smeargle, can you get these Pokémon out of their Pokéballs?" asked Jill.

Without any sign of saying yes or no, Smeargle jumped passed the damage and made it to where Jill was. He took the balls from Jill and did the same technique he used on the Pokéball that was holding Skarmory earlier. There was a click and the Pokéball released its contents. A Marshtomp came out and looked around, wondering where it was.

"It's okay," said Jill, "I'm here to help you. Do you have a trainer?"

Jill realized how stupid it sounded when she asked if it had a trainer. Of course it had a trainer, if not it wouldn't have been in a Pokéball.

Never the less, the Marshtomp nodded with eyes showing that it didn't trust Jill.

A flash came with another Pokémon coming out of one of the Pokéballs Smeargle opened. It was a Zubat. The Zubat flew up to one of the broken toilets and started screeching to try and get Jill away from that place.

Marshtomp stopped Zubat by saying something in its own language. Zubat stopped and Marshtomp turned its attention back to Jill.

Finally, Smeargle opened the last Pokéball and out came a Kirlia.

_A psychic type! _thought Jill. She knew she had a better chance at understanding them now since the Kirlia could help translate for her.

"Do any of you—I mean, what's your trainer's name?" Jill was about to ask the same question about whether they had a trainer or not, but she stopped herself and asked a more useful question. Her question was more pointed towards Kirlia.

Kirlia seemed to meditate and then answered Jill telepathically.

"_We have a trainer_," she said. "_His name is Alex. Where is he?_"

Jill sighed. "Unfortunately I don't know anybody by that name. But that's not important right now, if you noticed we aren't really in a place you would call ordinary." It was true that she didn't, but she had a pretty good idea of who Alex was by seeing the clothes on the floor which the Pokémon hadn't noticed.

The Pokémon looked around where they were. Indeed, they saw that no one human would enjoy where they were.

"C'mon," said Jill, "let's get out of here. Maybe you can find your trainer above deck."

Jill walked out of the restroom which left the Pokémon no choice but to follow. As Jill opened the door, it broke of its hinges for not being supported well enough. Jill walked over the door and looked around to see where she should go now. The answer was quite obvious: go above deck.

Jill decided to go through the front. That was most likely where the captain and everyone else would be if there was still anyone on the ship.

She walked passed all of the empty stores and restaurants until she reached the end where the hall with the suites were. That's when she came across the room. The room that was Charley's, and the door was wide open.

Jill hesitated in going in. she sighed, and the walked into the darkness of the room.

"_Where are we going?_" asked Kirlia telepathically.

"Just a little detour," said Jill. "I'm going to check something out."

Jill looked around the now darkened room. Except for a few things spilled on the floor, everything else was exactly the same. Then, Jill heard something.

It wasn't just her, the Pokémon all turned in the sound of the movement too.

"Skarmory," said Jill, "come with me."

The steel type knew better than to argue with its owner. It stood one step ahead of Jill walking towards the sound.

_Rattle._

The sound went again. It was coming from one of the drawers. Jill and Skarmory stood in front of the drawer and were preparing themselves for whatever was inside.

"When I open it, I want you ready for whatever it is Skarmory," said Jill.

Skarmory nodded.

Quickly, Jill opened the drawer and jumped back with Skarmory ready to attack. Skarmory then restrained itself and stopped. Jill took this as a 'it was nothing' look and got near the drawer.

Inside was a Pokéball, shaking around making sounds.

"Huh?" said Jill. She picked out the Pokéball and pressed the release button. Nothing happened.

"Could you do me a favor?" asked Jill looking at Smeargle.

Smeargle rolled its eyes and took the ball away from Jill. Smeargle did the same thing to try and open the Pokéball. Then, out came a Pikachu in the light of the Pokéball.

It started to shake away the rest in it and stretch like as if it wasn't released in days. Then it looked at its surroundings.

"Pika?" said the Pikachu.

Smeargle started explaining to the Pikachu about their current situation and the Pikachu acted like it couldn't believe what Smeargle was saying.

"I'd really hate to interrupt this but—" Jill said, but was cut off.

"So would I," said a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned their attention to the doorway and saw a man standing in the way. It was hard to tell what he was wearing, but Jill knew she couldn't trust the man because of the red 'R' that showed in his uniform.

"But, I have orders," continued the man. He took out a gun from his waist and aimed it at Jill. Just as he was about to shoot, he fell to the floor and behind him stood another man holding a fire extinguisher he used to hit the man.

The other man dropped the fire extinguisher and walked in. Jill suddenly realized who the man was.

"Darry?" she asked.

The man came closer. "Jill," he said revealing he was Darry. Darry made a face after looking at one of the Pokémon, but Jill couldn't tell which one. He turned his attention back to Jill and continued. "Where's Charley?"

"I-I don't know," said Jill.

Darry looked like he was calculating something in his mind.

"No," said Darry. "The curse is with him. It doesn't want h—well, it does—never mind! Jill, we got to save Charley, he's in danger."

"What?" asked Jill. She suddenly realized that she had left her Sneasel with him to help. "That can't be, he's with Sneasel…"

Darry seemed to again start calculating.

"No… we got to help him, now."

Jill turned to face the Pokémon. "Well, Skarmory and Smeargle, come with me to find Charley, the rest of you, this is an emergency, can you handle going up alone?"

The Pokémon started to talk to each other. During this time, Jill started to talk to Smeargle.

"I know you're not my Pokémon," she said. Smeargle turned to listen to her. "So I've got a choice for you: do you want to come?"

The Smeargle started to talk to Jill in its own language which made it very difficult for her to understand, but in the end Smeargle nodded.

Kirlia turned to Jill's direction and spoke telepathically. "_Our final decision is we'll help you out. You helped us, and if our trainer truly abandoned us, we'll have nowhere to go. We'll stick with you for the meantime._"

Jill turned to face Darry. "They decided to come with us." She said.

Darry looked at the doorway and then faced Jill again. "Okay, the more the merrier. Come on, let's go, Charley's in danger!"

Darry ran out into the hall with Jill and the rest of the new team to go and save Charley from something Jill didn't even know about. The only guide to Charley now was the real Darry himself.


	22. Water

Ah, now this chapter is much better. I didn't want to go into too much of a boring story by building up action with Charley and the others, so I decided to go back to someone I left behind. Enjoy. :)

**Chapter 22: Water**

A lonely fishing boat passed by the dark morning skies of the sea. It was already five A.M and they were already out to collect more Tentacool and Magikarp for the Markets at Slateport.

The boat went around the thrashing waters that surrounded Pacifidlog and into the calmer waters of Pacifidlog's Eastern Sea. Here is where most trainers would swim during the afternoon, try to catch Pokémon, or battle other trainers that showed up.

Of course, that only happened during the day. Right now it was a dark morning with only the water Pokémon out. These are the types of Pokémon the men were looking for: early ones that didn't take much notice on anything.

The Captain of the boat continued pulling forward into the sea when suddenly his door burst open and a crew member stepped in.

Through the window of steering, there was some kind of commotion coming up around the left side of the bowel.

"Rice," said the captain. A man in his early thirties came right beside him standing in a fisherman's attire like the rest of the fishing group.

"Yes captain?" said Rice. 'Rice' wasn't really the man's real name, it was just a nickname given to him when he joined the crew.

"Steer right now, I'm gonna go check what's going on out there," said the captain. He let go of the wheel just as Rice got it and continued the steadfast speed it was in.

The captain walked out of the room and outside where he could hear his crew talking looking overboard.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked the captain.

"Nothin' Cap," said one of the crew members, "this kid over here thinks he could fool us into taking him back to Slateport is all."

"Did I say I was tricking you?" came a voice overboard.

"Huh?" the captain was confused about where the voice came from, but then a crew member pointed out passed the deck in the water.

The captain looked over and saw a kid about twelve, maybe thirteen or fourteen years old. Accompanying him was a Lapras that he was riding with and a Saybleye at the back.

"You there," called the captain, "what are you doing out here so early in the morning?"

"I'd like to keep that to myself, sir," said the kid. "I need to get to Slateport, but the water gets too rough in the morning that I could drown! I was wondering if I can get a ride."

"And how do you know we're going to Slateport?"

"Because it says right there 'Slateport Market Fishing'." The kid pointed to one of the cargo boxes on the ship.

Without even thinking about that, the captain continued. "Yes, but we can't return to Slateport with you, they'll think you're a stowaway. I'm sorry, I can drop you off at Pacifidlog but that's it."

The kid thought about it for a few seconds. "Please, I really need to get back to Slateport, you might not believe it but I got a hell of a story to say."

"Watch your language kid," scolded the captain, "I'm forty years old and not even _I_ talk like that."

"Sorry," the kid said quietly.

"What's your name, son?"

"D—Derek," said Derek.

"And how old are you?"

"Thirteen."

_Hmm, I can't leave a thirteen year old out in the ocean alone, even if he is a trainer_, thought the captain.

"Alright welcome aboard for a short time," said the captain. "Bring him in, men."

The crew members listened to the captain's orders like he was a General. They brought a rope latter and threw it for Derek, who caught it and recalled his Lapras as soon as he pulled the Sableye up to the boat.

"Why don't ya call back your Sableye too?" said the same crew member who answered the captain when he asked who they were talking to.

"Because the Sableye isn't mine," said Derek.

"Oh? Whose is it then?"

Derek turned to face the Sableye starting to wonder about it, even though he knew it could talk and wasn't the average Pokémon.

Before Derek could answer, the Sableye answered for him.

"My name is Alex; I was stranded in the ocean until Derek here came and saved me."

Luckily, most of the other crew members had left the scene, but what Alex had said scared the crew member to the point of urinating.

"Y—you can talk!" said the crew member startled and stepping back. Even Derek was surprised at the sudden speaking.

Alex had forgotten his situation. He quickly started to try and come up with a quick and good excuse he could use without scaring the poor guy to peeing even more. Finally, he decided to just tell the truth: what was the point in keeping a secret that you don't want?

Alex started to explain his situation which caught the attention of the rest of the crew members who also freaked out.

Again inside steering the boat, the captain saw the disorder start up again and went back outside to see what was going on.

"Uh…" Alex was now getting uncomfortable with the crowd. That's when Derek came to the rescue.

"Alright, no one needs to hear this, he's been stranded like he said and he doesn't want to be questioned anymore than you would if you were in his position, now back off."

When the crowd of fishermen refused to move, Derek got in the middle of it and started pushing them away.

"Enough," said the captain also breaking the crowd. "What's going on now?"

"Captain," said a crew member, "his Sableye can talk!"

The captain looked at the Pokémon form of Alex with a puzzled face. Alex stared back at the captain before answering with a small "leye?"

"Get back to work," said the captain and he turned back to go drive the boat.

"No, captain you don't understand, his Sableye was just talking right now. He's just playing around to make us look crazy!"

The others all shouted things similar to saying 'yeah'. The problem was that Alex couldn't control when he spoke in human or in Pokémon, it wasn't like he was not talking on purpose.

"I don't care if he could talk or not!" said the captain. "What would you prove if he could? You're my men and I plan to keep you steady, no matter what. No one cares if something's magical or not, just do your work, that's what you're here for."

_Saved by the captain_, thought Alex.

"You boy," called the captain pointing to Derek. "Derek, come with me and I'll give you a cabin."

Derek did what he feared to do ever since he met Alex: pick him up.

At first, Alex struggled in his arms and Derek put him down. He attempted again and this time with less of a fight and was able to take Alex like a baby following the captain into the boat.

* * *

"You know," started Derek, "you could've just stayed quiet and pretended to be a Pokémon."

"I can't control when I speak human or Pokémon!" said Alex, except he said it in his Sableye tongue.

The two were down in a cabin below the deck with only one bed with many old quilts on it. Alex sat on the bed while Derek sat on a chair used for the desk right beside the bed. They received no intrusions from the crew even though they now knew about Alex the talking ghost-type.

"I need you to speak English now, I don't understand Pokémon language."

"I can't control it!"

"Please speak in English."

Alex got off the bed and onto the desk with his purple ghost-like fur making a soft whoosh as he landed.

"I CAN'T!" Alex slammed his fist into the desk which opened right in front of Derek. That's when Alex noticed something that he could use to finally communicate with Derek: a news paper article and a pen!

Alex grabbed them with his claws and put it against the desk grabbing the pen in his right hand and wrote down what he was trying to say.

Derek read it and the answered back. "Why can't you?"

Alex wrote again on the paper trying his best to write neatly since he wasn't used to claws. It read: becuz i dont know how to chang langage.

Not the best writing ever, but Derek understood it as good as he understood internet chat rooms.

"So what's that suppose to mean?" asked Derek.

'it means i talk and i dont know what im speaking in,' wrote Alex.

"You can't control how you say it?" asked Derek. "Well can't you tell by the way it sounds when you talk in human or not?"

'when i talk i only hear english.'

Because of the way Alex was writing, he ran out of space to write more. He threw the paper aside and jumped onto the bed, where he collapsed on the feather pillow with his back jewels pressing against his spine.

Derek just stared and said nothing. He couldn't say anything anymore; he didn't want to say anything anymore. Alex had only explained a little bit about what happened to him with the crew members, he explained how he was just going on a cruise ship to see his uncle and that's it. He told them he was human before, and when a talking Pokémon says something like that, is it possible not to believe them?

_If Alex really was human before_, thought Derek,_ then he probably wouldn't want to talk about his past on how he became a Sableye. I'll let him sleep on it; I don't want to see someone in fear. I know he's hiding fear; I would if I was in his shoes._

Derek pushed back his chair and stood up. He pulled one of the quilts on the end of the bed over Alex.

"What are you doing?" asked Alex. Derek didn't answer; he didn't even know what Alex said.

He covered Alex and brought the chair against the wall and pulled one of the many quilts on the bed for himself. Leaning the chair so it was suspending the two front legs, Derek sat and pulled the quilt over him.

"Get some rest Alex," said Derek.

Alex wanted to say something, but then decided to let it pass. He was tired and even if he said his remark Derek wouldn't know what he said.

Alex turned and faced the wall, where he decided to finally for the first time in the entire day of chaos, and morning too, get rest.

* * *

"I'll tell you something," said the captain, "that is one weird kid, Rice."

The captain was controlling the ship's course back to Slateport after catching the plenty of morning Magikarp and Tentacool.

"What was he even doing out this early?" said the captain, more to himself though.

"Well he is a trainer," said Rice. "You know how kids could get completely wrapped up in their journeys."

The captain nodded. He looked ahead and turned the wheel to go around the rapid waters that flowed through Pacifidlog and Slateport. Then he saw a metal wall in the way.

"Wow!" the captain turned the wheel again real sharp. The crew in front slipped from the sudden turn but then also saw the metal wall. And the Team Aqua emblem on the side.

Swiftly, the captain just barely missed the wall. The wall rose up and showed its full form: a submarine.

Suddenly, the waves from the rapids picked up and pushed the boat back. The tail of the ship hit the wall and cracked with a hard force which dropped everyone on board the small boat down to the ground.

The submarine's lights came on and aimed to the fisherman boat that had just crashed into it. Metal arms ran out of small holes on the side and grabbed the end of the ship to push it away.

It did successfully, but the crash was too bad that once it pulled away, the entire back of the boat broke off.

There were two crew members in the back. One of them fell into the cold morning water while the other started to crawl his way to the front. Rain started to fall making the man's crawl slippery, but he pulled through with the others bringing him up.

Below deck, Alex and Derek awoke to the sound immediately. There was a sound of metal crunching and the vibrations just made it worse.

"What's happening!" said Alex. He pulled away from the blankets and jumped to the floor, where he slipped as the boat slowly turned to its side, and then back to normal.

Derek made a grab for Alex, but Alex refused pulling away. Derek had a worried look. Alex couldn't tell if he was wondering about the boat or about him.

Quickly, Derek opened the cabin door and looked out into the hallway which was now covered with water.

"What's going on!" yelled Derek. That's when he saw the back end of the boat. It was completely ripped off and the ocean was visible clearly. Water rushed in, but that wasn't the only thing that came.

Mechanical arms pulled inward and scratched the walls, took items, and tore up the floor even more. Alex was right at the doorway and could barely hold himself while looking.

The arm lunged for Derek, who dodged it. Derek fell to the floor and saw Alex right across from him. The arm extracted back and another came and broke the threshold of the door Alex was leaning on. Alex jumped out of the way and Derek caught him and pulled him next to his chest.

"LET GO!" yelled Alex and bit Derek's arm. Derek gave a yelp of pain and let go.

The mechanical arm pulled a foot of the wall apart making the wreckage land in the hall and more water rushed in to them. Derek got up holding his hand and grabbed Alex in his other holding him in an arm lock as he struggled to get free.

Derek turned the corner just as an arm tried to get him and walked up the small stairs leading to the Captain's Corner. He passed that room and ran into the controls where the ship was being driven, but there was no one there.

"Hello?" called Derek. Alex broke free and started to scratch himself as if trying to get off some germs that Derek had.

Derek ran out the door and outside above deck to see that everyone had hit the panic button.

The crew members were scrambling around and running around in circles. Derek found out why as soon as an arm nearly missed him and grabbed someone else, twirling the crew in the air and throwing him into the ocean.

The light of the sun was rising. Derek ran out and to the front after seeing the back nearly destroyed by the arms and saw where the arms were coming from. An Aqua submarine.

_Why are they attacking us?_ thought Derek.

Alex came out into the rising light and was grabbed by an arm and swung in the air.

"Alex!" yelled Derek, and he ran passed the crew members to get to the Ghost-type.

Alex was now really mad. All of a sudden, his eyes glowed a white color. The arm also glowed the same and then let go, but Alex remained floating in the air. A sphere of white energy traveled across his body, much like that of an evolving Pokémon. Then an arm hit him and he fell to the ground.

"Alex!" said Derek again and pulled him to safety, but Alex refused. Alex got back up and dizzily moved his hand in front of him. A dark ball formed in his hands and the rest of his ghostly fur blew against the wind it gave off. The light flashed against his jewel eyes.

"AHHHHHH!" yelled Alex, and he threw the ball at the ship. The hands disintegrated to dust particles. Then, the submarine pushed one more arm out and it grabbed the back of the boat. With amazing strength, it lifted the boat off the ground and gave it a 180 flip in the air, springing all the crew members into the water and sinking the boat.

Then just like it had appeared, the submarine vanished.

There were still many of the crew members left in confusion of what happened. Derek arose from the water and started calling out for Alex. No reply.

"ALEX!" called Derek, but still no one answered. The only sounds of the morning were the rapids and the crew members crying out loud.

"Tentacool!" yelled one of the crew members. Derek felt a sting in his left leg. He looked down and saw a Tentacool stinging him.

"Get off!" said Derek shaking the creature away from his leg.

Derek swam through the crew members and scanned the area looking for Alex. He finally found him floating in the water.

"Alex!" called out Derek, and he swam over to him. Alex was unconscious, or so it seemed. "Wake up, Alex."

Derek felt for his belt to take out his Lapras. He felt all around his waist looking for the Pokéball that contained it, when he came to a startling realization.

"I left my Pokébelt in the cabin!"

Derek shook away the feeling he had, the really bad feeling for leaving his Pokémon in a watery tomb, and pulled Alex close to him.

"Stay alive, buddy," said Derek, and then he swam away holding Alex, hoping not to get caught in the current and lose his way to Pacifidlog, which was about a block away.

Just behind them was the captain's right hand, following Derek in hopes of finding help and more about what he heard about Derek's talking Pokémon. Rice broke away from the crew, and followed Derek.


	23. Confrontations

For some strange reason, I couldn't upload this chapter awhile ago. CoughYesterdayCough It annoys me that I had to export a different chapter just to get this up, but of well. And now I'll be working on the other fic. ;)

****

**Chapter 23: Confrontations **

Zap stopped running and let everyone else catch up. He probably wouldn't have stopped if there wasn't a door blocking his way out of there. There was nothing in Zap's mind left but the thought of saving his trainer, which he had grown fond of in unbelievingly only one day.

It only took a couple of minutes for everyone to finally make it to where Zap had reached starting with Amy as the first to catch up, then Ghost and Umbreon, then Houndour, and then a girl with the strange name of Nini and finally the two brothers, Charley and Darry.

_I guess I ran too fast_, thought Zap. He waited for one of the humans to open the door, but instead he was asked a question from Charley.

"Zap," said Charley, "I know you would do anything for your trainer, but I need to know why him? You've barely even met him."

Zap was about to ask how Charley knew that he had just met Alex, but stopped himself. He remembered that every now and then Charley had visions of people, giving away some of their own past.

"I care because I have nobody else to care about," said Zap. He wanted to say more, he wanted to say that it was because he failed himself as a father to take care of his family, he wanted to just talk to someone about the incident and to someone who cared. But even though Charley could understand him, Charley wasn't someone to give away all of your hidden pasts too. So instead, Zap said nothing more.

"Okay," said Charley, "just remember that you always have me you can turn to. I've seen a lot of things and there's nothing you can say I haven't done anymore, so if anything's bothering you, you know I've had similar things happening and can help."

Zap just nodded and kept silent.

"C'mon," said Nini grabbing the door handle, "let's go."

The door opened and ahead of them was a staircase room. Or at least what was left of one.

The stair steps right in front of them was completely torn away leaving wreckage in the floor below them. There was a horrible smell that turned up. Zap had to back away making a face just being able to smell the strong odor. He did that not because of the stench either; he knew what that smell was of. He had killed before, and he knew that that was the stench of blood. Human blood to be precise.

Amy noticed the smell too, but she just blurted what it was out to everyone. "That's the smell of death… and this isn't from Pokémon… this is human death…"

Umbreon looked below at the landing. "Amy's right, I see human remains down there."

Nini didn't want to admit it, but she too saw the red liquid flowing from the stair wreckage below. She thanked the heavens that she wasn't really a human, if she was she would've probably shrieked her head off.

"We should probably find a different way around this," said Charley.

"Yeah, we should," said Nini.

Charley turned to face Darry. He expected him to say something, like how he always did when it was just him and Darry, but he kept silence. This was strange for Charley, so he decided to say something.

"Why are you quiet?" said Charley, "It's not like you, especially when your life's on the line."

Darry shrugged. "If you've seen what I've seen today, you probably wouldn't be talking much yourself."

"Darry… what happened when the curse took you?"

"What?"

"You were taken away by the curse, along with a Smeargle… what happened to you while you were gone?"

Darry kept silent again. He sighed, then said, "I really don't want to talk about it right now Charley, let's just get out of here. At least I'm not as quiet as Ghost here."

Ghost gave a snarl at what Darry just said, but calmed himself.

Charley still had many questions, and he was beginning to lose trust in him, but instead of continuing, Charley put the question aside and deal with what was going on at the present time.

"Okay, does anyone have a plan?" said Houndour. Nobody answered him. "No? Okay, Umbreon, will you do the honors?"

Umbreon nodded, and without wasting another second, she spilled out a flow of dark liquid from her mouth. The liquid moved just like the curse, but slower. The dark mist surrounded the empty floor in front of them and connected with both of the staircases, the one going down and the one going up. The staircase going down disconnected from its hanging place and fell making a loud noise as it landed on the floor. Houndour moved in front of everyone and threw out a breath of fire that covered the liquid smoke. The two moves clashed together and hardened. Then as the moves disappeared, a cement road lied ahead of them connecting with the staircase going up.

Everyone was just speechless. "What?" said Houndour, "Why do you think we were locked up?"

Charley came forward and put a foot on the landing. "Is it safe?" he asked.

"Of course it's safe," said Houndour, and then he walked over it himself as if to prove his point. "See?"

Charley walked over the board of cement and was surprised at how it didn't move much. He motioned for the rest to follow him and they too walked onto the landing.

Amy looked over the edge of the cement landing and looked down. She was wondering how the place could've collapsed down there. Ghost came right up to her and looked too.

"We better keep moving," said Ghost.

"Yeah," replied Amy.

Charley walked over to the real stair area and walked over that now. With a small jerk, the stair fell an inch lower and Charley fell back onto the cement ground surprised.

"These stairs are worn out bad," said Darry, "we need to be careful on what we do."

"Is it really worth risking?" said Charley.

"Yes, if you want to get out of here."

"Hey, what are you people doing!" yelled a voice.

Everyone turned back to look at the entrance and saw a person with an Assault Riffle at hand. Three more came to the door with the same weapon and looked at the bunch trying to get across the stairs. They aimed their guns at them and placed their fingers on the trigger about to shoot.

"No!" said Charley. He put his hand in front of him and aimed at the people, who he saw were wearing Team Aqua uniforms. Charley's eyes glowed white and a green covering was seen visible as the Aqua members shot. The bullets rushed at the green covering but swung around and went back as it hit. Charley was using Protect to protect everyone.

"Run!" said Charley, "I can't hold out this Protect a long time! Keep going up!"

Charley's eyes flashed more white and the green shield went all around the Aqua members blocking all possible exits and not allowing them to shoot at anything.

Zap led everyone up the stairs, but Nini stayed behind next to Charley.

"Go Nini! I can handle this alone!" said Charley.

"No you can't, I'm going to help you Charley."

It was as if the tables had turned. Now it was the humans attacking to let the Pokémon escape instead of the Pokémon attacking to let the humans escape.

"Let go of the shields," said Nini.

"What! You want me to let them kill us!"

"I have a plan, Charley, just listen to me!"

The Team Aqua members were shooting at the upper walls of the Protect trying to break through, but nothing happened. Instead, light blotches appeared and then disappeared.

"Are you sure?" said Charley.

"Yes, I'm ready for them."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Just do it."

Reluctantly, Charley let go of his power over the Protect. The field disappeared and without a moments waste, the Team Aqua Grunts aimed their weapons at Charley and Nini.

Suddenly, Nini's eyes started to glow. Not the type of glow Charley's eyes would glow when he used Pokémon moves, but instead it was a red glow. The red glow covered her eyes, and her hands started to run to life with fire. Fire spiraled all around her hands. Everything was happening so fast, the Team Aqua members barely had time to aim their weapons until Nini torched them with flames.

Fire dispersed from Nini's hands and surrounded the Aqua members, suffocating them. Before she could kill them, Nini stopped. The Aqua members laid there barely able to breathe.

"Nini… I…" Charley couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't even know Nini could use these fire powers.

"I'm a fire Pokémon Charley," said Nini, "remember?"

It was true that she was a supposedly Ninetails before that, but Charley didn't know this story. Nini never told him.

"Whatever," said Charley. "Let's get back to the others."

Nini and Charley didn't run or walk fast, they were just walking. Charley was a bit shocked that Nini could use powers and Nini was waiting for Charley. But neither of them said a word.

They reached the top step and looked through an open doorway, but didn't see anyone there. Charley looked down the halls of the dark ship and saw nothing.

_Where did they go?_ thought Charley. Everyone seemed to have just vanished.

"Zap?" called out Charley. There was no reply. "Darry? Amy? Umbreon and Houndour?"

Charley was about to call out Ghost, but then there was a thud. Nini and he turned to see anything if anything was even there. Ghost lied on the floor.

"Ghost!" said Charley rushing to the Sableye, "Are you Okay?"

The Pokémon could just mumble out a small reply but stayed down.

"Charley…" said Nini, "I think you better take a look at this…"

Charley walked over to Nini holding Ghost in his hands and looked at the hall Nini was pointing at. There were burn marks on the walls, along with many streaks indicating lightning bolts. The floor looked like it was raked with claws.

"How did this happen in only five minutes!" said Charley.

"I think you better ask that question to _him_," said Nini, pointing at Ghost.

Ghost mumbled a few words, unable to say anything. He was out, but not out cold.

Charley entered the nearest room kicking the door open and put Ghost on the bed. Light filtered in through the window, showing the morning sun rising.

Ghost looked exactly like he did when he was fused with Alex, lying on the bed like that.

"Ghost?" called out Charley in the small room. "Can you hear me?"

Ghost's eyes opened a little. He turned around and faced Charley, but seemed to be having some difficulty doing so.

"Ghost, where is everyone?" asked Charley.

Ghost stayed silent. He tried to say something but couldn't. Instead, he mumbled one word, but Charley knew what it was already. "Da…rry…" said Ghost, "he…"

Ghost stopped. He didn't continue, he just stayed on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. He was a liar, he wasn't your brother Charley," said Nini, but Charley wasn't paying attention.

Charley knew that something wasn't right about his brother; he knew he acted strange, but he ignored the thought. He ignored the thought that his brother was going to betray him, he ignored it all.

"He's right," said a voice from the door, "Darry did do something, but he wasn't able to get me."

Nini and Charley both turned to see a familiar Jolteon standing in front of the doorway.

"Zap!" they both said at the same time. Zap however wasn't in the cheering mood. Secretly, inside him he felt guilt. The guilt that he failed yet again.

"What happened?" asked Charley, "What did Darry do to them?"

"The real question is what _was_ Darry," said Zap. "When we reached the top, Darry changed shape. He turned into a dark shadow, and aimed for _me_. He pulled me away while I shot some attacks everywhere, and that's when Ghost helped me. Unfortunately, the new Darry threw him across the room and onto a table where he hit his head real bad. Using this short time, I ran away from Darry and instead, he grabbed Amy and pulled her away. Houndour and Umbreon tried to help Amy, but they were just dragged too. I followed them, but then they disappeared around the corner and I never saw them again."

Charley was just left with a gasp. "So… he wasn't my brother…" he said, "he was the curse all along in disguise… he could've had me right there, but he let me live and attacked only you guys… I don't understand."

Charley paused for a moment to try and collect his thoughts. "The curse wants me, why did it go after you guys?"

"There are apparently some things we just won't be able to find out," said Zap. "So what now?"

"I don't know, maybe we should just keep going. We'll never find out anything by just standing around here."

Charley wished there was something he could do to help the others. But in reality, he could do nothing. Now, only hope could save the others.

"We should find Alex," said Charley, "Come on, let's—"

There was a docking sound. It was loud, but it sounded as if something had just connected to the ship.

"What the?" said Charley.

Nini got Ghost and said, "Let's get out of here. We'll find Alex later, that sounded too weird to miss."

With Nini leading the way, Charley followed. They went through the dark halls of the ship and went into the main area, where there were the food courts and other stores all littering junk on the floor of a five star ship.

Nini led the way to a staircase room that led up one more floor to the top deck. Immediately they heard murmuring and talking, some shouting, but they heard people.

They opened the door leading out and saw a huge submarine beside the ship, along with all the passengers crowding the area. And on the side of the submarine was the sign that no one found joy in. it was the Team Aqua Emblem.

_This is my vision_, thought Charley. _I saw this, this ship is gonna fall, with many of the passengers! The Team Aqua submarine will bring this ship down! _

More connections were heard and a small metal bridge connected with the _S.S. Tidal_. Team Aqua members were coming aboard. A group of trainers got their Pokéballs out and waited for a battle, but their Pokéballs didn't work. Team Aqua members boarded the ship and already had their Pokémon out. Zap got in a position ready to fight.

"What are you doing Zap?" asked Charley.

"If you give the command, then I'll fight. It's your choice," said Zap.

People started to run away from the Aqua members as their Mightyena and others attacked the people that got in the way. Then without warning, Zap stopped still. He froze in time for a moment, and so did one of the other Pokémon that the Team Aqua members brought on. They stared at each other for a long time, and then leaped towards each other snarling and baring their teeth.

"No, Zap don't!" yelled Charley. Zap didn't listen. The two Pokémon ran right by each other about to attack…

And then they passed each other. Zap went for the Aqua member that brought the Pokémon aboard and attacked him. As for the other Pokémon, it jumped on Charley.

"Ahh!" said Charley as the Flareon in front of him jumped on him, throwing fire at him all over. Nini kicked the Flareon away with her foot. It was the same thing happening to Zap. Finally the two stopped attacking the humans and ran right near each other.

There was a silence in them. Then, they both spoke.

"Zap…" said the Flareon.

"Rachel…" said Zap.


	24. Escaping the Unknown Place

Okay, flashback time!

**Chapter 24: Escaping the Unknown Place**

"Please, Mark, run!"

Zap struggled in the net he was in. All he could see were black stripes going up and down with very little space to look through. He was trapped.

"DAD!" Zap felt a pushing at his side.

_Run Mark! What are you waiting for?_ thought Zap.

Zap shot many thunder attacks, but couldn't break free from the bag's grasp. Zap heard a kick and the sound of someone groan. His son.

"NO!" yelled Zap, "Don't you hurt him!"

The bag swung around and Zap felt a pain strike him just as he hit the cave wall.

"Uhh…"

Zap could've lost conscious there, but he fought the urge to go to an endless sleep. It wasn't his time to die. If he were to die that day then he would die with Mark being saved.

The bag opened and Zap fell to the floor. He was still unable to move, but this came as an advantage. With one eye slightly opened, Zap caught a glimpse of the trainer. It was that first moment that he realized that the trainer didn't have the ordinary Pokéball. Instead, it had streaks of red gliding down it. There were many markings on it, but Zap didn't have to study the Pokéball to know that this wasn't the ordinary trainer.

Zap looked around and no longer saw a Numel. It seems the trainer put it back in its Pokéball.

Ignoring pain from the sharp hit on the wall, Zap got up and looked at the end of the cave. There was another human there taking his son away.

"No, Mar—"

Zap was kicked by the other trainer just as he got onto all fours. With the pain circulating, Zap fell to the floor again.

"Please…" said Zap, as a silent plea. "I…need…my son…"

Zap heard the two humans talk to each other, but he couldn't make out what they said. Zap's vision was blurring.

_I can't die here. I need to stay conscious! I need to stay awake long enough for my son!_

Zap's hearing was starting to clear, but it wasn't clear enough. He could hear what the trainer was saying to the other human, but not clear to make out any words.

Zap didn't dare try and get up. If he did and the trainer kicked him again, then he might lose his consciousness there and not be able to save his son. That's when Zap's hearing cleared.

"What do you know about catching Pokémon, Henry?"

The voice came from the trainer. He knew only one of the human's names, now he needed the trainer's name.

"Please," said Henry, "I was one of the five assigned for the betrayal at Rocket. I've learned a lot of things, and this is one of them. This is a parent Pokémon here, if you take it, it'll already have the knowledge of life experience. It'll try and escape the compound and succeed due to life experience in the wild life, understand?"

"Shut up, you know nothing of this. This is a level twenty-nine Jolteon. Not only is it not common here, but its level is three times higher than any other Pokémon in this area!"

"This makes it even more dangerous to us. Leave it here. We'll take the kits only, at least they don't know much about the world. We'll be able to keep then listening to us for as long as they live."

"Hello! What's not processing through your head? It's rare, it's a high level, and it's already defeated! We can take it and nothing bad will happen."

"Are you willing to disagree to your high commander?"

The trainer got frustrated. "That was two missions ago; you're not the commander anymore!"

"Just forget about it," said another human from the mouth of the cave. "Let's get out of here."

"But—but—"

"Let's go," said Henry.

Seeing as he was defeated, the trainer followed Henry as he led him out.

_NO! I must—follow!_

Zap got up slowly with pain. He tried to follow but kept stumbling. A sound from a truck starting sounded out. With a fast pace, Zap ran with pain to the exit.

* * *

That wasn't all of it. The memory, that wasn't it all.

Those were the statements that were going through Zap, but now he couldn't care less. Each day before he had tried to put it all away from him, but how could he brush off something that happened to his children? That would be madness, so here was Zap, twenty minutes after seeing Rachel again. Now he was locked in a cage with roommates. Though, that's not what he would call roommates in his cage.

His cage was much bigger now. _Much_. His roommates weren't Pokémon; they were other unfortunate humans who acted against Team Aqua. He was now on the Team Aqua submarine. The only reason why there were only other human instead of Pokémon was because they only had one cell room.

The humans had a look of frustration being the only ones that took action and then were taken down by a team despised in all Hoenn. Among them were both Charley and Nini. After being taken down, Team Aqua took Ghost away from Nini and his whereabouts are now unknown. Though they did tell them what they were going to do with Ghost, both Charley and Nini weren't sure if they should've trusted them. They were, after all, the enemy.

Supposedly, Ghost was taken to be healed in one of the healing rooms in the sub. Or at least that was what they were told.

Even trough all of this, Zap couldn't take his mind off of seeing Rachel once again. Questions were going through his mind: where did she go after he left her? What horror led her into Team Aqua? Why was she siding with them?

Even through those thoughts, he knew that there was no way that Rachel would side with them on her own will. Zap knew this because Rachel had told him about her past. She was born in a human household, so she was given a human name. One day, her trainer wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. Her trainer picked her, and that's how she got better at fighting.

Then one horrible day, when she was traveling with her trainer Ileana, Team Aqua attacked. They were in a Pokémon center, and Team Aqua took hold of it. For five straight days, they held them hostage along with many others. And on the fifth day, they killed Ileana.

The only thing that Rachel had was nothing more; her life left when Ileana died. On that day, Rachel attacked all seven Team Aqua members that held her and the others hostage, killing them brutally with normal attacks. Each one had a different gory death, so when the police finally took over, they said Rachel was too dangerous to tame, and had to be put to sleep.

Rachel ran. She ran for days killing every Pokémon in sight, and that's when she met Zap. With the skills Zap learned from only a wild family group, he tried to calm Rachel down. When that didn't work, both of them fought face to face. It was a grueling battle leaving scars on both of them. And the battle was brought to the main road.

There they fought their hardest. Then a traveling group of Pokémon trainers came. Those Pokémon trainers had no right to die that day, but the battle was too hard. Rachel exploded the van they drove across a peaceful route in Hoenn with an attack unknown to her kind, Hyper Beam.

After that, Rachel was left stunned. She couldn't move, and tears came to her eyes. It was torture watching those four trainers burn to death, and watch their ashes run by the wind, but it was something she couldn't keep her eyes off. Those trainers had a family, and she wrecked it. When Zap searched the remains, he found a bag. Inside were tissues. Zap brought them over to Rachel, in hopes of helping her sorrow, but took out something else entirely for them both.

As the contents fell out, so did two stones. And when Zap brought them to her, they both changed. Zap became a Jolteon that day, and Rachel became a Flareon. On that day, she vowed that she wouldn't let anger run her, and made sure that Zap wouldn't be run by anger either. She also vowed that she would never look at Team Aqua with any kind heart, and now she was at a disadvantage with them. She was now a fire type, and she was determined to never be with the ruthless Team Aqua again.

So why was she working with them? This whole story was the one reason Zap knew she couldn't have sided with them on her own; she had to be forced, somehow.

"Zap?"

Zap turned around and looked to find Charley who lay by the wall next to him. It seemed that Charley saw he was thinking about something, but now he could tell Zap was having a weak heart just by the look of his face.

Charley then nodded as if understanding everything, when Zap didn't even say a word.

"Rachel is alright," said Charley.

Zap was surprised, then immediately remembered again that Charley had his visions.

"Wh—wha—"

Zap tried to say what happened to Rachel, but the words couldn't come. He didn't want to say anything. Then, he thought of something to say.

"You have visions, right?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"C—can you tell me what happened to Rachel? I mean—what's happening to her?"

"Zap, I can only have visions when they are by close relatives or by close friends. When it's not about that, it's when there's something important I missed and I have a vision telling me what it is."

"Charley—I'm you friend now—that counts as close friends, please tell me."

"I can't, we just met."

"You barely met Alex and you had visions about me!"

"That vision came to me because it was important, Zap."

"How was that important!"

"Because Alex was cursed!"

Charley's temper didn't hold, and that calmed Zap down.

"I had a vision about Alex; not you. In that vision, both of you were talking to each other. Alex said your name, and you said Alex's name. That's how I already knew your names, and we've just met, so the bond isn't strong enough."

Zap didn't say anything. He was silenced by Charley's words.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," said Charley.

"Don't worry about it, I was losing control."

By now, the remaining nine people in the crowded cell, including Nini, were looking at both of them. They had faces of confusion and puzzlement. It wasn't going to be a convincing story to tell them that it was a trainer to Pokémon type of conversation, because Charley just blurted out that he wasn't Zap's trainer.

"You made a scene at the wrong time," said Nini.

* * *

Amy awoke. She opened her eyes slowly and saw a dim light above her. As soon as all her vision became clear, she arose from the floor she lay on and took in the surroundings. It was a cave.

The dark aspects overlooked everything and the only light was the hole above her. There were dark instilments sliding off the walls and landing on the floor next to her. And behind her, was a lightly tinted veil of a blue wall, which left very little light to detect the remaining of the hall onward. Amy shuddered.

She suddenly realized that she was alone. Curious, Amy walked towards the blue mask covering of the wall. The hall seemed to extend forever, but there were other halls in its wake, too.

Slowly, Amy touched the veil. And her clawed hand went through it. Amy was surprised, but not because of the veil being a transparent hologram, but because of what her hand looked like in the other end. She was terrified.

When she moved her Sneasel hand through that veil, her hand transformed into human.

Quickly, Amy jerked her hand back, but it refused to come. Her hand was embodied to the veil.

"No—let go!"

She tugged and tugged, but her hand wouldn't leave the veil. The human part was stuck on the other side while the rest of her was still Sneasel.

"Somebody help me!"

With all her strength she pulled, but it was no use, her hand was human on the other side and wouldn't come to her side. Even still, she did not give up.

She pulled and struggled with the invisible force, and she never gave up. After five minutes, she made a big mistake. She pulled and her foot passed the veil, also becoming human on the other side. Amy became desperate.

"Somebody please help me!"

With only one leg, she continued her tugging, being careful not to get her other foot stuck. That's when she started to resort to attacks.

She started by using ice attacks, shooting with her free hand at the veil. The veil would make waves as each shot hit, but her hand and foot didn't break free. She decided to use one more attack.

Her light fur bristled and a dark portal opened right on the veil where her hand was. Her hand became loose and she did the same with her leg. Quickly after that, she jumped back away from the veil and rubbed her normal Sneasel hand and stared at the veil. Her Faint Attack saved her.

She looked around the caved room and pondered on where she was. She remembered what happened in the hallways back when she was on the ship. And she remembered that she wasn't the only one taken. It was also Houndour and Umbreon.

If they were also in a room like she was in, then they would also be having a hard time getting out. And if they did, and they also had the veil, then they would be human. Amy thanked the heavens that both of them were dark types, and could do what she did to avoid being human. But what if they didn't figure it out? What if they went through it? Amy wouldn't know, and for now she was stuck there.

She didn't know how long she would be there, but she hoped not too long. There had to be another way out.

Amy then looked up and saw that her hope was always there. The whole in the ceiling was the only way out.

She ran to the wall and put a claw on it to climb, but it slipped off. She ran back and had a running start and jumped onto the wall in hopes of climbing, but the walls were too wet, and she slipped onto the floor.

_Okay, let's try a different approach._

Amy concentrated. Not too soon, a portal appeared. She jumped to it and transported her up, but not high enough to reach the top. She couldn't Faint Attack her way up.

She was frustrated. That's when she heard the voice.

"Amy!"

She turned around and looked at the exit with the veil. Outside, was Umbreon. Quickly, Amy ran up to the veil and looked at her.

"Umbreon? Is that really you? How did you get out!"

"Haven't you tried Faint Attack?" she asked.

"Yes, now how did it work?"

Umbreon made a portal on the other side of the veil and went through it. She appeared in the room Amy was in now.

Amy was speechless. She couldn't believe her stupidity.

"We need to find Houndour," said Umbreon.

"You—you mean you haven't found him?"

"This place is huge! You try finding him!"

"What is 'this place' anyways!"

Umbreon couldn't answer that. She didn't know anything about where they were leaving both clueless.

"We need to find Houndour."

"You think?" said Amy with sarcasm.

"Yes, I think, now let's get out of here."

Amy didn't need to be told twice, she and Umbreon both used Faint Attack and appeared on the other side. It was then that Amy realized how big the place was.

"Soooo, where do we start?"

"We shouldn't split up," said Umbreon, "this place is huge. Let's stick together."

"What's the problem ladies?" said a voice from behind.

The two Pokémon turned around in hopes of finding the Houndour they were looking for. Instead, they found a Pikachu right behind them.

"Oh," said Amy, "who are you?"

"You shouldn't be concerned about that," said the Pikachu rather quickly.

"In a place this big, we need to know," said Umbreon.

The Pikachu was silent for awhile. Then, he said, "Are you two… looking for something?"

"Try some_one_," said Amy.

A smile formed on the Pikachu's face. It wasn't a friendly smile, it seemed a little…evil.

"Then allow me to show you two around this place."

"How do you know about this place?"

"Trust me; I _have_ to know about this place to even be here and not in a cell like everyone else. Those are the unfortunate losers that fall victim. Can you believe their idiocy?"

Neither Umbreon nor Amy spoke. If they were to get out of there with Houndour, they were better off if the Pikachu didn't know they were prisoners.

"I didn't think so; now let me show you around."

Amy and Umbreon couldn't tell if the Pikachu was stupid, or if people who were actually there sometimes got lost. They assumed it was the second one. And because of this, they didn't dare ask what the place was. They might've been able to fight him off, but they didn't know how powerful this Pikachu was. They also didn't know that if attacking him would be a wise decision, since many other Pokémon there could come out of nowhere if they did that. So instead, they followed the Pikachu in the darkened halls of wherever they were.


	25. Fight at Dawn

Sorry for the already nearly two months delay, but I finally got this up! I'd just like to inform that this chapter gets a little bit…graphic.

****

**Chapter 25: Fight at Dawn **

Jill walked through the darkened halls of the ship with the only light coming from rooms that had their doors open, showing the outside sun rising. Darry followed behind and the small team of Pokémon they rallied rushed in a cluster to stay close, because now they knew that not only was the ship not working and they were in danger, but that the danger was completely extreme.

Jill already knew that Team Rocket was in on this, but why was still a mystery. She knew by the expressions on Charley before they were split up that he knew one of the teams was involved, but it was puzzling to her now that she thought about Team Rocket being in on this.

Team Rocket was part of Kanto, why were they in Hoenn? The question got to her and she was left thinking that maybe Team Rocket had moved to Hoenn, but then why?

For every question she thought of, she knew that Charley was the only one that knew the answer.

"Stop," said Darry. Jill turned to see Darry with his eyes closed listening intently. "Do you hear that?"

Smeargle jumped in-between them and listened too. He then pointed to where he heard it.

"I just wish this could all stop…" muttered Jill to herself. She was tired, but determination to find both her Sneasel _and_ Furret kept her going.

Without warning, Smeargle bolted and ran down the hallway.

"Let's go, follow him!" said Darry, then he ran after Smeargle.

Jill turned her attention to the Pokémon. "C'mon, but silently."

They followed the two who had already turned around the corner. Jill could still here the running steps of Darry, and she followed them. If she lost the trace, she would use one of the Pokémon to help find them. Luckily though, that wasn't needed.

They stopped short as Smeargle and Darry were hiding behind boxes strewn on the floor everywhere. There was a glass window on the right side which showed the sea. The box were placed around on top of each other and looked perfect for hiding. And for the reason, Jill just had to look at the next room, where three Rocket members were talking.

"Right Giovanni," said one of members. Of course, Giovanni wasn't there, but she was talking to a small radio. Yes, the Rocket was a she.

"One question though," she said at the radio.

"This better be important," said a gruff voice on the other end, more likely the voice of Giovanni.

"It is—a little, sir. Apparently the Aqua's are still searching. However, it seems that they don't know why they're searching for it. I need an answer, if they find this thing; won't it drastically ruin _our_ plans? I mean, you got to remember the incident a few months ago, and it was with the same thing. We know where it is, we should just take it and go rather than risk leaving it."

There was a silence for a moment. Then, Giovanni spoke. "That was more of a recommendation than a question, Venn. I realize that it was near our downfall before, but it's not needed anymore. Archie wants it because he knew we needed it, but he doesn't know what's special about it. That's why his troops don't know why they're searching for it."

Jill just wanted them to stop referring to the object 'it.' She wanted to know what it was already.

"Now do as I say, we have no more business here."

"Yes, two more things sir."

"What is it?"

"We didn't come here to mess with Team Aqua; we came here to kill any cursed. We haven't done so, do we still need to?"

"Legend is our top priority. Right now, we'll let the cursed go. Project Legend will begin soon, and we must prepare."

_Is this the 'it?'_ thought Jill. _Then_ _what did they mean by _wear_ it?_

"Let's fall back," said the person called 'Venn.'

"Wait," said one of the Rockets. "I think I heard something over there."

Jill could tell the Rocket member was aiming in the direction of her and the rest. She stayed quiet and didn't make a sound. Darry made signs behind his crate to Jill and then moved out of her sight. The other Pokémon followed him. Jill started to wonder what he was trying to get across to her, that she didn't notice the Rocket Poke his head through the frame, and see him look at her.

"There's a—"

The Rocket didn't get to finish. At that moment, the huge window broke and a metal arm broke into the boat. Jill screamed and fell to the floor. The arm had grabbed the man's head, and crushed it. It pulled back bringing the man with it, and blood dripping.

"Team Aqua's here!" yelled the Rocket named Venn. Both of the remaining Rockets ran to the hall Jill was in and saw her.

"What are you doing down here, you shouldn't be here!" yelled Venn, but then another arm came in and grabbed her partner by the waist. Before he could speak, his lungs were crushed, and the arm planted itself on the ground of that floor.

The boat tilted a little and made Venn fall to the floor and slide next to the broken window, which now was a torn away wall revealing the ocean below. Along with her other partner floating dead.

Outside, there were many arms connecting to the boat. A submarine was connecting to the _S.S. Tidal_.

Jill saw Darry on the other side of the hall telling her to follow him, with a freaked out face. She looked at Venn, who was still looking out, then at Darry. She ran for Darry.

She passed the metal arm and looked into the room the Rockets were talking in. the boat hadn't tilted, but the side she was on almost broke away. That's why it was slanted.

"Wow, wait!" said Venn, "Where are you going! Get back over here!"

Jill ignored the Rocket's plea and continued running. As soon as she caught up with Darry, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a door with normal stairs leading down.

"Where are we going?" asked Jill.

"Anywhere," said Darry, "just go!"

So Jill didn't protest. She ran down the stairs with the other Pokémon already down there. Nothing else left to do but run now.

* * *

Ghost was still conscious, but very little. He saw Team Aqua members all around him, and it seemed that they were _helping_ him. Now why would they want to do that?

He decided not to ask, or attack. If they _were_ helping him, he was better off letting them do their jobs.

Ghost lay on a table with a Pokémon life support system. Aqua members muttered silent words to each other and mumbled others, but Ghost didn't want to hear anything anymore. He just wanted out.

But out of what? There was another question for him. Ghost didn't trust these members, so why was he letting them do as they pleased to him?

Ghost question this and that, trying to find something to take his mind off the fact that he indeed was near death. At first he didn't want to believe it, but he knew that he, a _ghost _Pokémon, meaning he's already technically dead, was dying.

He didn't want to be near the Aqua's; he was always told they were dangerous. But he didn't do anything. For the most part, they were saving him. But to what extent? Would they leave him to be trapped with them forever, or would he return to his—_trainer_.

He tried not to remember. Alex was gone, and he failed to find him. His friends he met with Alex were also gone. He had no idea where Alex's Pokémon were or what would happen once they were found.

Or maybe they were already found by Team Aqua?

What ever question came up, Ghost tried to put a blame on Aqua for it. Yet they were the only ones saving him.

Now he didn't even care anymore. What was going to happen to him? He didn't know, or in fact care. What would happen to Charley and the rest? He didn't know, and he hated to say it, but he didn't care either. What was going on here? Why was he doing something like this, first putting blames on the Aqua's, and then putting them on the real people that saved him? It wasn't right, and he didn't know how these thoughts kept getting through his mind.

Across from Ghost, was an Aqua scientist, smiling. He was sitting on a rolling chair and was the one that put the life support system on the Sableye. And he knew the exact things that were going through Ghost's mind.

He saw Ghost struggling against himself, but he knew in the end, Aqua would win. And it was all because of his invention. Ghost was breathing through a tube, but what he was inhaling wasn't just making him better, but making him want to be with them.

His latest invention made trainer Pokémon go against their trainers. This is what they used to tame the stolen Pokémon. It was a lot more efficient than what Rocket did.

He kept his smile, because in a few minutes, he knew that the Sableye wouldn't struggle to Aqua. He knew that it wouldn't have feelings for its old life. He knew it wouldn't have feelings for its old trainer. And he smiled.

In a few minutes, the Sableye would not be a threat to Team Aqua. In a few minutes, the Sableye would refuse to leave Team Aqua. In a few minutes, the Sableye would be his…

* * *

The whole cave was much darker than Amy or Umbreon had assumed. There were many other cells that had Pokémon sleeping in them, and sometimes human too. As the Pikachu led them onwards, they saw other Pokémon go threw the veil and become human, where then they would be taken by other Pokémon away as they squirmed and were useless, as they were vulnerable now. Both Amy and Umbreon were lucky to escape, and even more lucky to have the Pikachu on their side. But they wondered every second if Houndour ever got out, or if he became human…

"Alright," said the Pikachu, "so who was it you girls were looking for?"

"We were looking for our friend," said Umbreon. "He's a Houndour."

"We have many Houndour working for us you know, be more specific. All of us have a work number, do you know his?"

They should have prepared for a question like that. This type of question was going to blow their cover, and they might again be put in a cell, or worse.

"We don't know," said Amy making up an excuse, "we just got here."

The Pikachu stopped. He turned and faced Amy with a stern look. "Just got here?"

Amy was beginning to think that was the wrong thing to say.

"How long ago?"

Umbreon cut in with another excuse. "What she meant was that we haven't really paid any attention to his number. We just met him a couple of days ago, and we've been here for about six months."

The Pikachu seemed to sigh, and Umbreon knew she said the right thing. Amy tossed her a 'nice save' glance and waited for the Pikachu to say something.

That's when she noticed that the Pikachu was calculating something in its mind. She didn't know what he was thinking, and she never thought she would until she got out of there, but now she needed to know. The tension inside her grew, and it slowly tore her apart.

The Pikachu turned to face them again, this time with more relieved of a look than he lad before.

Amy wished she could understand more, but she couldn't make out his mind. She just had to go with the flow if she wanted to get out of there.

"If we can't find your friend due to unknown number, we'll just have to get him from the main room. Please, follow me."

So they did just that, unable to do anything else. They were too afraid to do anything else, so just hid it.

The three Pokémon walked down the halls and turned in each corner. Each time they would pass cells with more Pokémon stuck in there and guards guarding. They were lucky to have no guards guarding their cells, if not, they probably wouldn't have made it out of those things.

More halls led to more halls and Amy and Umbreon were getting tired of just walking around, they felt that they weren't going anywhere. But then their concern washed away as they entered the biggest area of the cave, with many other Pokémon working on anything.

There were different Pokémon working on tables and some working with some mechanical machines on walls and floors. The whole cave seemed to be wired from here. There were shouts coming from Pokémon, screaming in pain, but the rest of the Pokémon working paid no attention and continued their job. On the ceiling were words spread in poem form, the only thing that no one worked on. It read:

_Keep me close, then feel my wrath _

_Avoid me, then die in one path _

_Stay with me, then suffer your fate _

_Forget me, then bring my curse _

_Save me, then take my soul _

_Kill me, then never speak again _

It was strange to them, but they didn't take much of it into notice.

"What you are looking at is the Central Room, where all of the cursed are taken to further the test," said the Pikachu.

Amy and Umbreon were struck with the sense that they weren't supposed to be there; ever. Different Pokémon passed them, but they said nothing.

"This place… I don't think I can live with something like this…" Umbreon was saying what was quite obvious to Amy. She didn't like it either, but like she kept telling herself, it was the only way out.

The Pikachu led them past the room and into another hall, which was built more and more like a scientific building. They stopped in front of a wall. The Pikachu said something, but it was not understandable to either of the two Pokémon it was escorting. The wall opened and there was a big room, and in the center was a big machine.

There were two tables with a Pokémon struggling through bonds on one and on the other there was a human in the Team Aqua clothing struggling through the same bonds. Umbreon noticed something, and she knew Amy noticed right away. The experimenting Pokémon was Houndour.

Before they could do anything,Ursaring came and attacked them. They were pushed against the ground, and the Pikachu smiled.

"I knew all along that you two were the celled," it said. "You left me no choice, girls."

"Let us go!" said Umbreon, "We didn't do anything to harm whatever it is you're doing here!"

"But you planned to."

Umbreon didn't want to answer that, but she knew that she didn't plan to ruin their plans, so she asked, "What are you talking about! We were lost!"

"Don't play dumb, I know that Pokémon in the operating table is your friend. We all know. And we all know you were born as a Pokémon."

"Yeah, so?"

"We work here because we are victims. We aren't Pokémon, we were all humans. Everyone that is not in a cell, was once a human."

Amy was shocked; the face on Umbreon was the same.

"And now," he continued, "Since someone killed the leader of this, we were all stuck in these bodies. The only thing we can do now, is have revenge." He got closer to Umbreon's face. "You do know a fellow named Charley, don't ya?"

Umbreon didn't want to tell him anything, but she had lost all her senses, and answered, "Yes…"

"He destroyed the real curser, and made us stuck in these forms for eternity. Do you know how much shit we feel like!"

Again, Umbreon tried to avoid answering, but answered with a shake of her head.

"And no one will anymore. That's why we've banded together, to do one last thing."

Umbreon didn't want to hear what was coming, but she knew that the Pikachu wouldn't stop.

"We're going to kill Charley." The Pikachu walked away and leaned against the walls as the two were brought by Ursaring's to the table near Houndour. "Unfortunately, even though the curse is dead, it had a thing for fairness."

Suddenly, the huge machine in the room roared to life. It had a tip pointed down at Houndour and the Aqua member, both struggling hard trying to get out.

"You two can go ahead and watch, and then you can become victims yourselves."

"No, please don't!" pleaded Amy.

"Oh no?" said Pikachu, "Now why wouldn't you want to become a victim? This is now my curse, and according to the rules, I'm in charge here. And whatever I say, will happen. And I say you are going to be my victim." He turned to Umbreon. "You too." Then, he added, "As a matter of victims, I think I'll take your trainers in too."

"Don't you dare hurt my trainer!" said Amy.

"All you had to do, was say so. But unfortunately for you, I don't give a damn." With that, the Pikachu was surrounded in dark mist and transformed into it. He was lifted, until he himself was part of the curse. The liquid smoke rose high and disappeared into the walls.

The machine looked like a weapon and aimed down on the Aqua member.

"NO! HELP ME! I NEED HELP!" the Aqua member screamed and screamed, but the beam hit him covering his voice and completely disintegrating him into the light. Quickly, the beam was swinging to Houndour.

"No!" Umbreon broke free of the Ursaring who wasn't holding on tight from the shaking the machine made. She jumped and bit the restraints just as the beam was seconds away, and then both of them jumped back almost hit. Amy took this time wisely. She pushed the startled Ursaring who was easier to push than she thought, and he fell into the rays as he yelled in pain.

The machine's beam hit the wall behind the Ursaring and made a crack. The crack spread and the room shook. An earthquake took place in the small room leaving only one thing for the three Pokémon to do: run out of the room. They ran out into the hall that both Amy and Umbreon came in through.

All of them heard the machine breaking down and stood on the other side. Maybe that was a bad idea, because now all of the Pokémon—or maybe they should say _humans_—were staring at them with glares.

"Thanks for saving me, but now what do you have planned?" asked Houndour.

"Shut up," said Umbreon.

The three got ready in fighting positions, ready to fight any Poké—human—that got near them.

Suddenly, they did something unexpected. The others started to shift away into smoke and then band together. They were forming a huge wall of shadow. Liquid shadow. And then the darkness attacked them.

* * *

"What now, Archie?" asked an Aqua member. "Our members are disappearing rapidly. Should we even be doing this?"

A Flareon stood right next to the Aqua member's feet. She had her eyes closed, and unfocused.

Archie stared at the many miniature TVs in front of him. He was looking at the holding cell for the people he had locked in. sparks flew around in there, and he could see a Jolteon trying to bring the door down as many other trainers rebelled on the bars. They weren't going to give up. It would be dangerous to leave the Jolteon in there, but it would be even more dangerous to let it out now that all the trainers wouldn't let an Aqua get near them.

"Archie?"

Archie, leader of the Aqua members, sighed and turned to the Aqua member.

"Everyone associated at Team Rocket are idiots," he said, "if what they're looking for can kill them, then I see no sense in not letting them kill themselves. We should get everyone to return, let's not meddle with the Rockets for now."

"And the trainers?"

"They seem to attack anyone that goes near them, so let's not bother them. When they're out of energy to fight back, we'll drop them off in Slateport."

There was a knock on the door. Archie looked at one of the TVs and saw a member outside the office waiting. He let him in.

The Aqua member walked up to Archie.

"Archie, something really weird is going on in that ship." Said the member.

"What is it?" asked Archie.

"Remember when I told you I worked for Team Rocket? Well, not only did I find what they were looking for, but I found something else." he searched his pockets and took out two small orbs. One was blue, while the other was red. "Sir, for every new recruit at Rocket, we had to study a lot about Expedition Snowfall, ever heard of it?"

Archie gave a nod, but was getting bored with the Aqua member. "Just say what you need to say, soldier."

"These two orbs played a very important plot in this expedition. At Rocket, we spent time stealing Pokémon, but it was all because of this. This is what Team Rocket was looking for; it was the final product in their research.

"There are a couple of people in this world that have a gifted talent, and then there are some that were cursed. The cursed talent can be removed, but only by a spiritual stone that is only known by Rocket. I tried to find out more, but I couldn't. Sorry.

"Anyways, according to one of the books at Rocket, if the cursed person sees this, then they're cursed forever. So here's my question: what would such an item like this be doing at a place like here? The answer is quite obvious. Someone on board that ship was cursed, and if that person thought he could un-curse him or herself, then they were wrong. By just holding these orbs, they ruined their chances."

"Alright," said Archie, "what's the point. You said something weird was going on, what is it?"

The Aqua member went silent. After a few seconds of silence and one stare from Archie, he continued. "Sir, the weird part is where I found them, and how I found them."

Archie sighed. "What's so strange about how you found them," he said, bored with the conversation.

"When I came up here with a stab in me, I was immediately sent back down there. When I found these orbs, and grabbed them, I swear that I felt my hands go through them. I felt my hands not only go through them, but through the floor. It was very strange, and when I grabbed them again, nothing happened."

"Is that it?"

"No sir, there's more. Out of all of our partners in the room, we felt a presence. A very…strange…feeling. Sir, there's something on that ship that is not human, not Pokémon, and for all we know, not dea—"

Suddenly, an Aqua member opened the entrance door. "Leader Archie, the trainers are breaking through the cell!"

Archie looked at his screen and saw the cell room. The holding bars were getting slanted and trainers were pushing against it. Shocks of electricity were seen flowing through the cell, probably from the Jolteon, and Mightyena from Aqua were pushing the cell wall back into place taking the shock from the Jolteon.

"Henry," said Archie, talking to the Aqua that had just reported for him, "Call back our remaining members into our sub. You two," he was now talking to the other Aquas, "help push back the trainers. Tell them they'll be taken back home."

"You realize they hate our guts, right?" said Henry.

"You do your job and I'll do mine," said Archie. "Go!"

* * *

Henry walked off the submarine and into the settling crowd. The people weren't trying to stop them anymore; they were actually scared of Team Aqua. Henry had to grin at this, but concentrated on his assignment. Not his assignment with Archie, but someone else entirely.

He walked in a fast pace passed the many people that were pushed against the walls by Team Aqua's Pokémon full force. He passed them, and entered into the ship and went in search.

He searched around calling out his partner's name, trying to find her, but nothing came. After yelling, he started turning over furniture lying around the ship and continued to call, except a little louder than he had been. After quite awhile, a Rocket member appeared behind him. His partner.

"That was long," said Venn, "why don't you try removing some troops now?"

"I don't have command of Team Aqua, Venn," said Henry.

"Still you could have reduced the number here." Venn rolled her eyes. "By the way, not all trainers are above deck. There was one I ran into just a few seconds ago before your sub attacked this place. Henry, I think this place is falling apart." Venn began to explain the situation with the part of the ship she was on. "The section that your sub attacked almost fell away, anymore recklessness and it'll collapse."

"Relax," started Henry, "I was just given the order to retreat everyone back. We're taking some trainers though."

"What?" Venn was shocked. "Are you nuts! Forget it; Team Aqua is always doing crazy things."

"And when I was a permanent Rocket, what did you think I was thinking?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," said Henry. "We're going to leave these trainers at Slateport. You however were capturing those you thought were cursed and most of the time slaughtering them when you found out they weren't." Henry emphasized the word 'cursed' to Venn.

"You have no idea what is going on with Rocket, do you?"

"I was in it long enough to know."

"Only to betray us."

"It was my job. And now my job is to retreat."

"Fine, do what you will. Giovanni has ordered me to retreat my group too."

"So, has the old fool cracked yet?"

"Try saying _that_ to his face."

"I did once."

"When you were supposedly 'dead.'"

"Alright, back to business." Henry pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. It was dabbed in red ink of some sort, but still good enough to read. "Our newest course of action is very simple. And with these," he took out the two orbs that he found earlier.

"Where did you get those?" Venn said, jumping back startled to find him with _those_ in possession.

"Not important right now," said Henry. "Anyways, with these in hand, Team Aqua will surely succeed to their intentions. The problem is that they don't know it yet."

"Hey, that's blood," said Venn, pointing to the red ink.

"I had to do something for old friends, and it involved me getting hurt, but nothing big. Back to what I was saying, Team Aqua has no idea how these orbs can get into a big advantage to their plan. I even explained to Archie himself what happened when I found them, and he brushed it off like nothing, not even bothered by it. He doesn't know, and he'll only know if I tell him face-to-face."

"Hmm, the members of Team Aqua were always idiots."

"Alright, enough of that," said Henry, "what about on Rocket's end?"

"Giovanni knows what we're dealing with, and he knows we can't stop this now. We're too weak. We'll have to wait longer. As for project Legend, it's gone far. It might even be done by the next week. Henry, I'm getting really scared now."

"Okay," said Henry as if she didn't say anything important. He knew what Project Legend was, and deep inside, he too was scared. "Did your team manage to—_kill_—some cursed victims?"

"My team's dead." There was a short silence.

"My god, are you alright?" asked Henry.

"I'm fine. We did receive reports that others managed to capture one of the cursed, but nothing else came from them. It's as if they vanished into thin air."

"I wouldn't be too surprised if they did."

"What?"

Henry kept a paused silence for a second, then started to talk again. "I've been through many close encounters with this curse that curses others. I was lucky never to be caught by it. Out of my experiences, I've seen how this curse captures its unlucky victims. However, it seems to be acting differently, different than before."

"What do you mean?"

Henry sighed. "If you remember, about maybe a month ago or more, the curse attracted its victims by other victims."

"Yeah, so what about that?"

"Lately, which I mean just yesterday, I saw something happen quite different. Venn, someone on this ship was cursed. A trainer, he didn't look like much, but I knew he was cursed."

"How?"

Henry pointed down the hall while holding Venn's shoulder. "Look, down the hall to your left, there's a security room. I kept close watch in there and even set up my own cameras where there weren't any. The curse, I saw it. It appeared right after a boy appeared with a girl out of nowhere on screen. Even more strange was that I knew this boy."

"You did?"

"Yes, I did. And that was only because I knew his brother. When this boy appeared, he destroyed everything in the room. The camera was barely even intact. I informed some teammates about it and they said they would check it out, but they didn't. After that, I just kept watching. It was a stupid thing to do, and I could have saved this new boy that entered the room. After a few seconds, a grown man whom I helped a long time ago helped the boy get out. After that, the curse appeared; full form of misty darkness."

"That's impossible, only the first victim was visited like that, or so says the myths."

"Yes, and I still think I could have saved the boy, but it was too late. The curse stole his Pokéball and cursed him, and then the camera broke. And even after that, I did nothing." He was silent again for a moment, then continued. "But that's not important. The important fact was that the curse got to him without the usual ritual of having another victim curse someone. Strange, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is strange."

There was a noise above deck. The two turned and looked. Nothing. After a few seconds, they dismissed it as trainers struggling against the Aqua members.

"I think we should be leaving now," said Henry.

"You're right," replied Venn.

"I'll be waiting for you at Rustboro, like we promised. Get whatever members of your team that you can to leave and I'll try and keep the Aqua's from seeing your escape. I'll also be getting my members out of here as well."

"Okay."

Henry was about to leave, but was stopped by Venn. "You will be alright, right?" she asked.

"I can't keep a promise, but I'm a professional babe, you know I can do this."

"Yes, but I always worry about you."

"I'll be fine," said Henry, shaking away from Venn. "Look, I'll lead my men to exit from the front of the ship and keep most Aqua members there too. You can escape through the back. Now my question is can you handle that?"

Venn gave a slight nod.

"Good girl. I'll see you in Rustboro in a week." And so Henry left Venn standing alone in the darkness of the ship. She gathered her strength to get the remaining of her teammates.

* * *

Light seeped through her eyes. She gathered her strength, but just enough to open them. All she could see was a wall straight ahead covered in moss. She looked around her and saw she was suspended in the air. She was still in the cave. And she soon realized she was upside down.

Amy kicked at an invisible rope and tried to break free. Down was about a hundred feet of emptiness. She didn't want to think about that, all she wanted to do was get out of there. She tried and tried to break free of the ropes, but it was no use.

"Where am I!" Amy screamed, but more as a cry. She kicked and kicked but only succeeded in swinging herself in circles making her dizzy. She had no idea where she was and she didn't know what happened to her friends. That's when a dark liquid-y mist formed up around her.

The mist circled all around her as she struggled against the vines unseen by her eyes. And then it formed right in front of her.

It was a Pokémon, more specifically, an Alakazam. It was strange to have a creature stand before her, when she was over a hundred feet in the air. The Alakazam was floating; nothing was holding it.

Making swift swipes, Amy tried to slash the Pokémon, but it was no use. That's when the Pokémon's eyes started to glow, and Amy felt pain surge through her body. It wasn't the normal pain; this Alakazam was using a psychic attack on her. And to her horror, it was hurting.

"Ahhh!" Amy yelled. "How is this possible!"

Why was a psychic attack hurting her so horribly? She's the one that had the advantage, so why was she being hurt by something that was supposed to be shrugged off by her type?

"I say your part poison," said the Alakazam. "And whatever I say, goes." He continued and Amy screamed even louder. Was it possible that the Alakazam changed her type? The answer seemed apparent, but there was only one way to find out.

Amy used some strength she still had from the psychic attacks and tried to conjure a dark type attack. Nothing happened. When she tried again, the Alakazam kicked her, making her real dizzy.

"How—how—"

"How did I change your type?" said the Alakazam. He gave a short grin. "as long as I'm part of the curse, I have all its powers." He raised his hands with the spoons pointing towards her. They started to bend.

"No—please—! Ahhhhh!" her screams echoed through the entire room, and Amy saw she was defeated. She was still a Sneasel, but she was no longer a dark type. A dark…_type_?

Amy grew infuriated. This Alakazam had just pushed her over the edge. She gave all she had, and shot a powerful Blizzard at the Pokémon.

The Alakazam made a muffled cry as he was hit, and with this loss of concentration, the only thing that was holding Amy broke away, and she fell.

Amy screamed as she fell down the long hole down. It seemed to be curving inwards to make a spike point at the bottom, and a deadly one too. Tears came to her eyes as she knew she wasn't stopping, and she knew that there was no way that she could be saved by anything now. The ground was coming really fast and Amy lost all hope in surviving. That is, until she stopped three feet above ground.

"Huh—wha—?" Before she could say anything else, she was brought back up. She was going much faster than she was when she fell. She started trying to attack anything to find the strength of whatever was pulling her, as it seemed to be pulling from her leg. She was being pulled upside down.

She stopped when she was level with the Alakazam again. The Alakazam gave an evil grin floating in front of her. Amy tried to attack again, but she couldn't use any ice attacks anymore.

"Unlike you naturally born Pokémon," said the Alakazam, "I learn from my mistakes."

"How did—" Amy struggled with the invisible ropes before speaking again, "—you do that? No psychic I've ever seen could change a Pokémon's type."

"Then again," continued the Alakazam for her, "I'm not your average Pokémon." The Alakazam shot a weak Psychic attack and made Amy yelp in a small surge of pain. "I've been cursed with this _thing_. And as long as I am," he caused her more pain and then continued, "I have every piece of its power." He stopped making Amy gasp trying to breath.

"No—you're not Pokémon," said Amy. "As a matter of fact, you're not even human you freak-of-nature!" she spat.

The Alakazam's eyes started glowing, but Amy didn't let him get full with power. She was close to him, and close enough to grab a hold of him now. So she did exactly that.

The Alakazam was shocked at the sudden and Amy, knowing now that the Alakazam told her, bit into him as hard as she could. She didn't know if it was work, but if what the Alakazam said was true, then her plan would work. Alakazam's eyes stopped the glowing, and with a jolt, they descended slowly down, then faster and faster.

She was right. According to the Alakazam, she was now a poison type. And poison types weren't poison types without poison. She let go of biting him and felt wetness within her mouth. It was the first time she ever tasted blood that wasn't her own, and she hoped it would be the last.

Amy tried to steady herself on the Alakazam. Each time, he would try and grab Amy with the spoon still at hand, but Amy dodged. She was good at that.

The Alakazam pushed in the air and made the two collide with the wall as they sped towards the ground level. Amy could tell that the Alakazam didn't have enough strength to hover above ground. They were going down.

They crashed at ground level, Amy flying off of him as they bounced. She landed on the floor and hurt herself, and hurt a bone crack. A small tear appeared in her eye as she slowly felt pain jolt. When she turned around, already falling to the floor and lying barely able to stand, the Alakazam's spoon hit her in her forehead. A beam of light shot out and surrounded her as she fell to the floor, finally blown unconscious.

* * *

"Uh…"

Words failed him. Charley stared at the crowd of mixed trainers staring back at him. He tried to think of a good excuse, but couldn't come up with any.

Finally, a male trainer stepped up to him. "Dude, what were you doing?"

"Talking," said Charley, rather fast.

"To a Pokémon…that's not even yours?"

"Lay off him," said Nini, stepping in-between them both.

"Just asking a question," said the trainer defensively.

"Well it's not helping the situation."

"Wait Jenny," Charley cut-in. "I've been thinking; maybe it's not such a good idea to keep this curse a secret."

Nini turned to Charley. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that if we keep it a secret, this curse could attack more and more people. They won't be able to stop it, because they won't even know what it is."

Zap entered the conversation at the same time the male trainer did.

"This is true, Charley."

"What are you guys talking about?"

After the trainer said that, the remaining trainers also started to wonder too by giving in their nods.

Charley didn't lose eye contact with Nini. "Come on, the right thing to do is tell."

Nini had to think about this for a moment. A few seconds went by before she sighed, and turned to the crowd.

"My name is Jenny," said Nini, "I am not what you guys may think I am. In other words, I am not human."

Confused voices were heard through the crowd as different trainers said different things like, "is she serious?" or "She's nuts!"

"Believe it," said Charley.

"Anyways," continued Nini, "I've been cursed. So has this trainer here. His name is Charley." Charley waved but didn't smile. "Please listen to me as I'm giving you information that could save your life in the future. You're right," she said pointing to the trainer that first spoke to Charley, "that Jolteon isn't ours. It belonged to a trainer that is in the last stages of the curse, and he could be cursed forever. Charley and I have both surpassed the entire stages and have entered stages we didn't even know existed. Well, at least Charley. I'm still not in my normal self, but I have gotten farther than the curse's first two stages."

A female trainer spoke up. "And what are these so called 'stages?'"

Nini sighed. "The first stage takes you and a selected Pokémon on a rivalry. It fuses you together."

"A hybrid?" said a boy.

"Not exactly. It takes your mind and soul into either the Pokémon or yourself, leaving the dominant living thing to take the form, which means if the Pokémon you're cursed with has a stronger sense of emotion, which it usually does, then the form you take is the Pokémon."

"We turn into Pokémon?" asked the same female trainer before the boy spoke.

"Yes and no. What I mean is that even though, let's say you _do_ become a Pokémon, you can't control the body. It's your Pokémon, so the Pokémon controls his or her own body. You are just pushed into the very back of the brain and are forced to see, feel, and do whatever the Pokémon does. The Pokémon gets tackled in the chest, you feel the pain too. The Pokémon stands alone in the rain; you feel the water dropping on the Pokémon skin, or fur…or scales."

"And if it's the other way around?" asked another trainer.

"Then it's the other way around. The Pokémon is forced to the back of your mind and feels everything you feel."

"How do you know if you've been cursed?" asked the first trainer that had spoken to Charley.

"You'll know. Not all Pokémon pushed to the back of the mind will be very quiet, they'll be anxious. And so would you if you were in the mind of the Pokémon. You'll know because you can hear them when they speak, but only you."

"Right; and what's stage two?"

"I'm not done with stage one yet. Not only will you be put against your own Pokémon, but you will each have to be braver than each other. You'll get nightmares in your sleep, both of you, and the one that cracks first loses."

"Huh?" asked another girl trainer.

"You'll get a nightmare," repeated Nini.

"That doesn't sound too hard to beat," said one trainer.

"Yeah, out of all five hundred human victims of the curse that failed, it probably isn't too hard," said Nini sarcastically.

"Well—I mean—how hard can it be?"

"Extremely," said Charley.

"Well you beat it."

"No," said Charley and Nini in unison.

"What?"

"We didn't beat anything, if we did, then we would've never met each other. I would have no reason to be with him. And I would be me again…" she trailed off. She took a moment of silence and then continued. "Usually, you would get cursed during the day. Then, you would be in fear for the rest of the time until you went to sleep. Then you would have your nightmare. When you're cursed and the sun is going down, the Pokémon you're cursed with can get more emotional than you. That's what makes sure that you lose. If your Pokémon's stronger in emotions, then it's very easy to say you lose. Unfortunately for me, I was cursed during the night, so I went to sleep during the day. I had the nightmare first, so I let my trainer live."

"Your trainer?"

"I was never a human, I was a Pokémon," she said. "A Ninetales to be precise." Murmurs went on, but Nini didn't stop. "When I was in control of my body, amazingly during the day, I left civilization with my trainer trying to talk me out of running, and telling me to go back." She paused again, then continued. "The curse leaves a weapon hidden wherever you go. Not a power, but an actual weapon. It's a shotgun. It makes sure you find it, and when you do, you only have one thing in your mind. If you're the human in the first place, it's that you don't want the Pokémon you're cursed with to suffer. If you're a Pokémon in the first place, which I'm the only one in this room besides Zap," she pointed to the Jolteon behind Charley, "obviously, then you don't want the human to suffer. If you've never met, the bond grows stronger than if you have. When you see this weapon, you will kill yourself."

"Wait a minute," said a trainer, "so if you lost to it, then why are you still alive?"

"It's the second stage," said Nini. "After you're 'dead,' you are transported to the place you were cursed. Only, you aren't you…you're the Pokémon you were cursed with." Charley could barely see it, but to him it looked like Nini was getting to a more emotional part.

"I'll take it from here," said Charley.

"No, I'm fine," countered Nini. "Okay, anyways. Since I was a Pokémon to start with, I was transformed into my trainer, which is exactly what you're seeing." She pointed to herself. "I'm not sure if I'm still cursed or it just forgot about me, but I want to take this thing down before it curses anyone else. And for that, I needed someone who managed to survive the second stage, which is Charley."

"I don't know what's going on," said Charley. "I thought I destroyed the curse, but it's back. I don't know why, but it is."

"Yes, and that's a problem," said Nini.

"So…what did you plan on doing?" asked the girl trainer.

"I don't know," said Charley, "but it at least helps if you guys know." Then, he added, "Oh, and by the way, when you're cursed on the second stage, not only are you now a Pokémon, but the curse will hunt you down to either enslave you," he gulped before saying the rest, "or kill you."

"Okay…" started the first trainer that had talked to Charley earlier, "suppose we believe you."

"You don't believe me?" asked Charley.

"You're giving us a weird story, what do you expect?" there were nods passed in the other trainers as they too said the same. "If this curse is so dangerous and no one could beat, how did you beat it?"

Charley stayed quiet. It wasn't that he didn't have an answer; it's that he didn't want to answer. After a period of silence, the trainer continued.

"Figures, you lied." He turned around and started to walk to the back of the cell. That's when Charley's eyes started glowing. At first, only Zap noticed this, but then the crowd got surprised as suddenly, a card was lifted from the trainer's back pocket. He too was shocked. The card flew towards Charley and he caught it. His eyes stopped glowing and he looked at the card.

"Ralv Voyles?" asked Charley. "What kind of name is that?" Ralv didn't answer. He was too shocked at what he saw. Charley continued. "It says here you only got to battle Sidney of the Elite Four."

"…Th—that's right—how did—?"

"Since I survived the curse, the powers of it came to me. After that, it continued to hunt me, and when I finally supposedly destroyed it, my powers went away." He looked at the card again and sighed. "And now it's after me again. After I destroyed it. Someone I hardly knew was cursed, and I'm not looking forward to having more victims here."

The other female trainer looked at the cell than looked at Charley. "So, you have all this power, and you're not going to break the cell?" That started an uproar in the crowd.

In truth, no, Charley hadn't thought about breaking the cell door. He directed his hand and pointed to the metal bars. His eyes started glowing again and the bars slowly moved by centimeters outward. Charley let out a gasp and the bars slowly came back.

"No!" yelled Ralv, and he jumped to the bars and started pushing against them. Then, he called to the others, "Let's break this thing. Come on!"

The other trainers got together and started to push against the wall and Charley used his powers harder. The door at the other end of the hall opened and an Aqua member walked in.

"'Tha hell?" he said silently, then left the room running. A short moment later, Mightyena came in and started to bark at the trainers, and push against them. More Aqua's rushed in, but didn't do anything. The Pokémon were doing all the work.

"Zap!" yelled Charley," Fry them!"

Zap got behind the crowd of trainers. Yellow sparks flew and coursed throughout his body. In just seconds, Zap let out a Thunderbolt. It hovered and moved fast over the trainers and circled the bars, then went down dodging the trainers as they assaulted the bars and attacked the Mightyena, and they backed away.

Team Aqua members were screaming for their Pokémon to get together and keep the cell from breaking, and they slowly got charged with their own dark attacks. A portal appeared in front of each of them and they jumped in, and seconds later, they jumped out inside the cell.

One of the five Mightyena jumped and lounged at Charley, but right before it could reach him, Nini kicked the dog Pokémon and it flew to the wall.

"Zap, again!" said Charley.

Zap charged his body again, but aimed for the Mightyena in the cell. Charley yelled a last cry and the cell wall fell over. The trainers ran out, some went to the Aqua members to get into a fistfight, while the others headed for the door and hauled ass out of there.

Charley's eyes stopped glowing and he regained himself, then looked around. Just then, a Mightyena jumped on his back and tried to bite him. Before it could even clip him, Zap shocked it.

Charley moved the Mightyena away and got to his feet. "Zap, Nini, let's get out of here!"

Without hesitation, they followed.

Charley ran out the door and stopped. He looked around and then let Nini and Zap out.

"Get out of here!" said Charley, yelling at the trainers still fighting with the Aqua's. Reluctantly, each of the four trainers there ran out of the room, and Charley closed the door. He stepped back and broke the emergency glass that was holding an axe, and then jammed it against the door and the floor, keeping the Aqua's in there from getting out.

Aqua members appeared from either end of the halls surrounding the trainers and Zap. Each was holding an assault rifle. They aimed at the trapped trainers. With quick thinking, Charley's eyes glowed again.

A white flash swam across the room blinding everyone, including the trainers and Zap. Charley pointed to the ceiling at the lights, and darkness consumed the hall.

There was silence. The only light was from Charley's eyes, and they slowly dimmed out.

Then an uproar occurred. Not of screams, but of bullets. From each sides of the hall, flashes of lights illuminated shortly, flashing on and off. Charley pulled Nini to the ground. He could barely see her face. Zap stayed right beside both of them. There were screams of terror from the trainers. Charley couldn't believe how cold Team Aqua was.

He grabbed Nini's hand tight, then reached out for Zap's paw. His eyes started glowing again, and the room got brighter. Charley was concentrating so hard, that he couldn't even see anything anymore but a white blur. He heard Nini gasp, and he felt Zap turn away and bury his head into Charley, but couldn't see.

The white light surrounded them, and Charley teleported Nini and Zap, along with himself, out of there.

He appeared in the next hall above, with the lights on. And now, he didn't want to see a thing. Because he saw now, that covered all over Zap, Nini, and even himself, was a soft spray of _fresh_ human blood.

* * *

Houndour groaned. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Again, he saw horror. He yelled a howl of pain. He was pined against a spike filled wire frame, suspended in the air. His fur was stuck to the sheet, and every time he moved he hurt himself. But he fought the pain, and stood on all fours over the sheet, struggling.

Below him was a long distance down. He could hear machines churning. The wire frame connected to the walls to create a firm ground. Firm, but painful. Spikes stuck up giving him limited options to run, or else he would hurt himself.

Where am I, was his first thought. That was even the thought he had when he was being strapped to the machine that tried to kill him.

Houndour looked up and saw a tunnel of darkness. There were no exits; it was just a room with death written all over it. Rocks and other sharp turns were everywhere. It was just another caveish entrance.

_Sss—sss—ss_.

Houndour looked around startled, searching for the sound. He tried very carefully to make sure that he didn't hurt himself in the process.

He felt movement. There was obviously something else in the room.

"Wh—who's out there?" he called out.

That's when he saw it. A purple shadowy figure slithered down the walls. Each time it got closer, it got clearer.

Houndour tried to see through the darkness, then used instinct. He used Leer to scare the thing away. Or, that's what he told himself. What he probably really wanted to do was find out what it was.

Finally, it showed its huge body. Seeing it, Houndour would've skipped back, but he was standing on a sharp floor and didn't want to get into even more pain incase he had to get a getaway plan. It retracted back into darkness.

"Ss—sss—soooo, how do you like it here?" asked the creature.

"Sh—show yourself," said Houndour, shakily. He stopped using Leer and stared into the darkness, not moving.

The creature used its own Leer, and then jumped out of darkness. It crawled and slithered on the floor, ignoring the pain from the spikes, and wrapped itself around Houndour. It was an Arbok

Before Houndour could try anything, the Arbok bit into his fur, poisoning him. He screamed at the pain, then let loose his own fire attacks.

The Arbok threw him to a wall and he collapsed on the barbwire floor. Very painful.

"Ah!" Houndour yelped, but tried to hold the pain in.

"You know—sss," said the Arbok, "you would've been out of here—sss—, but you decided to go again—sss—t u—sss."

Houndour didn't want to waste his energy talking. He tried to avoid talking. But, the Arbok wouldn't let him get out of it.

It slithered all the way to him and wrapped him again. It started to squeeze him tightly. He could barely breathe anymore.

"Maybe it wa—sss—n't a good idea to bring your friend—sss—into your sss—plicing room."

Houndour coughed. "My what?" his energy was going away. He felt the poisoning taking a great effect. It didn't help when the Arbok tightened itself around him. He made a soft groan.

_No_, he thought. _I'm not gonna die here. I'm getting out of here no matter what!_

He had to make a decision, fast. It was either he bit the Arbok, or he fired it. He already tried burning, and it somewhat worked.

So that's what he did. His eyes ran with fury and he blasted fire out of his mouth and ignited the cave. The Arbok loosened its grip on him and he fell to the floor. Painfully.

He stopped and looked around, not trying to step on top of the barbwire. The fire caught on everything. The floor was now a torch with fire blazing. The Arbok had extracted back into darkness above, but it was still visible. And then it pounced again.

It gave a screech and sprung itself from the ceiling to the wire floor. Houndour jumped out of the way just as it hit the floor of the barbwire, and broke through it.

The whole lit stages of fire broke away making Houndour lose his balance and also fall into the darkly lit bottomless pit.

He was barely able to see, and that was from someone who stayed in darkness for most of his time. Though, he did see something clearly. It was the Arbok.

He tried moving out of the reaches of the Arbok's snaps. They fell and weren't stopping.

Using its aerodynamics, the Arbok made itself straight and pushed itself to the wall. It was able to slither at a high speed once it gripped it. It stayed at the distance and speed that Houndour was falling.

Then, it pushed itself against the wall and sprang out to Houndour. They squirmed in the air for awhile, and then light started to appear from the bottom.

There was a sound of a machine churning below them, and it got louder and louder the more the two squirmed and fell.

Right below them, metal chains crossed each other over and over again. Houndour and Arbok fell right into the chains.

The chains acted as nets. Right when both of them hit the chains, they were caught in them.

_Ow_, thought Houndour. _At least it's better than being stuck in the barbwire._

The Arbok regained its composure and shot out for Houndour, with its teeth reached out ready to sink into him. Houndour didn't really have a chance to run or fight back, so he dug under.

Using his paws, he brought one of the chains up and with the other paw did the same. He was only able to bring three chains up when the Arbok came and charged a bite, but he managed to dodge the bite using the chains as a shield.

He kept digging and managed to get his whole body under the chains and safe from the reach of the Arbok. That didn't last long.

The Arbok snatched the chains and broke through them. Houndour had two options: fight, or keep digging. So he chose to keep on hiding.

He shoved the chains up with his paws and kept going under. Again he was covered by the mass of chains and again the Arbok tried to reach for him. He dug and dug, until finally, the chains began to swing loose.

A hole was made big enough for the Arbok to fall in, so it did so. Houndour was no longer trying to go under, the chains were pulling him too fast. They were hurting him.

Using his dark powers, he tried to break the chains, or at least get out of them easily.

The Arbok gave one bite to reach for Houndour, but was caught by the chains. Instead, it got more tangled by the metal.

Houndour wasn't doing so well either. Each of his tries got him more stuck with the chains.

Then, the Arbok used its Acid and broke free of the chains. It started to fall downward to more chains, but got a hold of Houndour by the mouth.

Houndour screamed in pain and got himself untangled and they both fell through the chains and went down to more chains.

As they fell and tried to hold the swinging chains, they saw machines on all sides. There were oversized gears, even bigger than them, everywhere and turning at a fast pace. Small sparks of fire emitted from each grind that the gears sounded.

Just as they passed another wall of chains, Houndour grabbed one and got himself tangled again. The Arbok let go of him and got itself onto one of the chains. It glared at Houndour from its spot, then sprang itself up to him.

Houndour moved in the chains and managed to dodge out of the way, but the Arbok caught one of the chains next to him. It got ready to charge again.

Houndour struggled to get out of the chains doing whatever he could. He shot a Flamethrower attack and broke the chains holding him. The Arbok jumped.

At the same moment, Houndour let himself fall and was caught by more chains. The Arbok got tangled into the chains and pushed itself to the other side. It landed on the gears.

The Arbok looked down at Houndour and again tried to do another spring. It didn't work this time. The chains kept it held, and they were being squished into the gears. The Arbok suddenly realized its situation and started to panic. It started to throw Acid, but by then, it was too late. The chains pulled the Arbok into the gears, and it was squished into it, throwing whatever it had inside, out.

Houndour thought he was safe. He thought he could finally get out of there and find a way back to the girls. But unfortunately, the little bits of Acid that the Arbok had thrown, fell to his chains, and on him.

He moved and screamed as the pain struck him. The chains broke loose and he fell again, but like before, was caught. There was still poison inside him, getting him tired by the minute.

The chains got caught in a gear, and started to pull him in. he could do nothing now. He was barely able to move not only because of the poison, but the chains were keeping him in place.

_No_, he thought, _I must fight this! I can't die here! I can't!_

So he gave one last struggle. The chains pulled him closer. He tried and tried. Hope didn't disappear from his eyes, but he knew it was helpless. The chains pulled him closer, and closer, and then…

* * *

Ghost struggled through his restraints. It wasn't as much as a struggle before. His mind was already being taken away, and being replace by a mind that would forever be on Aqua's side. An Aqua grunt ran in, followed by a Flareon.

"Sir," he started, "the trainers are getting out."

"What?" asked the confused scientist.

"The trainers, sir. They're breaking out of their cell."

The Aqua scientist got out of his seat and walked to the Aqua grunt. "What are you talking about?"

"Take a look for yourself; I'm just here to tell you. And of course, use the current Pokémon that you've got on our side."

"There are currently no new Pokémon here, you'll have to wait. How's the Flareon?"

Rachel looked up at the scientist, with a face showing uncertainty. The scientist sighed, and said, "She wasn't fully transferred to our side, you know. I'll have to do it again with her later."

Suddenly, there was a sudden shake. It lasted for just a second, but it left the two silent for a bit.

"Shit," said the Aqua member, "I'm guessing something bad just happened."

"Ya think?" said the scientist sarcastically.

The Team Aqua grunt looked at the scientist straight in the eye. "Okay, when that Sableye is fully converted, but this Flareon to finish." He started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" asked the scientist.

"I'm on duty," the Aqua grunt replied, "gotta stop some trainers now, later!" he ran off.

Rachel was about to follow the Aqua grunt down the hall, but the scientist picked her up. "Come on, you're coming with me."

The Flareon struggled, but the scientist kept a firm grip. He closed the door to his little office and turned to the Sableye on the table.

The scientist walked passed the table and went to a desk, where he got a leash and tied it around Rachel's neck and then walked to a chair and tied the other end of the leash there.

"Alright," said the scientist. "Uh, just stay put."

Rachel didn't move. The scientist smiled.

He brought the rolling chair and sat next to the table with the Sableye on it. The lights flickered for a bit, then became a more violent flicker.

"Huh?" he said out loud. He turned sharply and accidentally knocked over the life support system that was helping Ghost. It pulled and the strings attached to him were pulled off forcefully because of the fall.

"Shit," said the scientist. He reacted quickly. Ghost struggled for a bit saying some words in his language, but the scientist ignored them. He picked up the cases and put them on top of the table just as the flickering stopped.

Ghost's jewel eyes flashed and gleamed coldly at the scientist.

"What—?" the scientist didn't get to finish. Ghost flipped himself into a standing position and then kicked the scientist in the face when he was helpless.

The scientist fell over the chair and landed on the floor, holding his nose as it started to bleed. He looked into the Sableye's eyes, and saw that something was wrong. Ghost was cured, but he wasn't fully on their side yet. He was just given his top notch strength. This was bad, not only for the scientist, but for the owner, if they ever met.

Rachel looked at the scientist then jumped to him, but was held back by the leash. She growled at it, then growled at Ghost. She had the face of 'If you hurt him your dead.'

Ghost paid no attention to her. Instead, he jumped to the other side of the table and grabbed one of the many scalpels there. He turned around, with the sharpest one in his hand, and looked dead cold at the scientist.

"No—don't!" pleaded the scientist.

Ghost ran over the table and was near the scientist, then jumped, with the scalpel aimed right at his head.

Rachel due to not having the full dosage like Ghost, but still having more of it, only had one thing crossing her mind. _Master…in danger…must…protect_.

She threw a Flamethrower attack at Ghost right before he hit the scientist, and Ghost was pushed by the force to the wall. He quickly got up and stared with dead eyes at Rachel. Then, he leaped.

Rachel jumped to the side and Ghost crashed right beside her. Her eyes showed fiery as again, he was getting up. This time, he was in her range, so she tackled him to the ground.

They struggled, and the scientist was getting a Pokémon cage ready along with a Pokéball to capture the Sableye. He didn't want to do that, because then it would interrupt the Pokémon just as it was getting to their side. So he only had the Pokéball incase an emergency _did_ happen and he needed something to save him, fast.

He got besides the two fighting Pokémon. Ghost noticed this, and got up to face the scientist. Rachel was about to tackle Ghost again, but was kept back by the leash. She started to bite at the leash, hoping to get loose.

"St—stay there like a good Pokémon," stammered the scientist.

Ghost growled. Quietly, the scientist opened the cage. He opened it very carefully so the hinges didn't make any sound. Ghost started to make a light ball on his hand. He had it there, and the room was soon washed once with the light. The light filled with darkness. Ghost was making a Shadow Ball.

He got ready to toss it, but seconds before, Rachel jumped right on him. She had cut through the leash. Ghost pushed her a good two feet away with his legs and the Shadow Ball faded into him. He stood up and the scientist jammed the cage down.

Ghost dodged the cage and slide to the scientist's knees. He scratched one of them on the patella, making blood ooze out, and the other he kicked.

The scientist screamed an agonizing pain and fell to the floor. Ghost stood and was ready to finish him. That's when Rachel came to the rescue again.

She pushed Ghost and they collided with the table wall. The table was on rolling wheels, so it moved as they crashed into it.

Ghost again pushed Rachel aside, but she regained her balance easily and charged again.

Meanwhile, the scientist crawled out of the way of the two fighting Pokémon and tried to get to the door. His wound was swelling up and more blood was visible on his torn slacks. He did a sort of crab-walk to stop the pain from getting worse, but it kept hurting him.

Finally, he reached the door. He used the wall to get up and saw the two Pokémon's fight getting closer to him. Right when he stood on his two feet, he opened the door, to find two trainers and a Jolteon right outside.

"What are you—?"

"Duck!" yelled Charley, interrupting the scientist. He pushed the scientist to the floor and made his knee hurt even more. His two companions got out of the way and a huge firewall emitted from above them. The scientist screamed in pain, not of the fire, but because of his knee.

The fight had just gotten more dangerous.

Quickly, Zap jumped over the scientist and ran over to the two Pokémon, which now stared at each other positioned triangular stile from each other.

Zap tried to utter the words Ghost, but ended up staying quiet for finally being able to be close to Rachel, again.

Rachel snapped out of her Aqua mind, shaking her head, and saw Zap. She was unable to move. The fighting had subsided. Even Ghost didn't know what to do anymore. Silence from the three.

* * *

Groggily, she awoke. She looked around her. Slowly, she got up on all fours, but slipped to the floor again. The ground was slippery.

"Uh…" she groaned. She felt the floor with her left paw, and started to rub. Wetness.

She brought her paw up to see clearly, and saw a dirty brown covered paw. For a moment, she had memory loss, but then regained it. She was Umbreon. She had no idea how she got there.

A low growl emitted from the shadows. Quickly, she turned a full tilt and looked to find _anything_ that could even speak.

"Hello?" she called out. "Who's there?"

That's when she heard something. It started off small, but it gradually grew stronger. She didn't want to be caught in some kind of death trap, so she moved as fast as she could. She stood as much as she could, and tried to run to the sides.

The noise became louder. _What's that sound?_ she thought. She pondered on what could make such a resonance.

Wet grounds. What happened; was she put there with the wet, or was she dumped along with it?

Wet.

Wet meant water.

Where was there water?

She made a wry face as she found out what exactly was the noise. It was rushing water.

She looked all around her and searched for the invisible water. There was none. Yet, the noise got louder and louder.

Umbreon looked this way and that, trying to find the source. There still was nothing. So she did the only logical thing. She ran.

Slightly slipping, she ran across the wet muddy floor. The hall seemed to stretch on forever, but alas, she reached an intersection.

Here, the water was the loudest. She looked in each direction, trying to spot any sign of water. That's when a drop of water tapped her on her forehead.

Slowly, she looked up, and gasped. There was a wall of water thrashing in every corner of the ceiling. It was a whole current, except it was flowing upside down.

Umbreon backed away into one of the corner walls, and kept staring up. Piles of water flowed against each other in the ceiling. She turned away, and looked in the different halls.

Darkness was starting to pack up the halls. Suddenly, all the lighting that had been illuminating all the rocks closed, and she was alone in a four way intersection, with only one stream of light shining down on her.

The water stopped thrashing. For a second, everything was quiet. Until the water started to slam each other. Not like the way they were moments ago, but crashing in fallings. She looked up.

The water fell from the ceiling. Umbreon gave a silent cry, and was about to be crushed under the pressure of the water. She gave out a Faint Attack. A dark portal appeared above her and water lapsed in, but the rest of the chunks of water fell in all corners. She was surrounded by water.

She let go of her Faint Attack and was thrust to the wall by the water. She was lucky for the faint attack, if not, she would have been crushed.

She paddled away in the water trying to grasp air. She was tugged under by the force of the water, but she swam back up.

She reached the surface and made another grasp for air. The water steadied and Umbreon was able to relax a little. The halls had been filled with water halfway up. She couldn't touch the floor.

Quickly, she looked at her surroundings. She wondered what she was going to do next.

There was a slight splash in the sudden silence. She turned around, and looked in the darkness. Nothing.

Light filled the halls again, showing more and more rows of halls. The water was becoming a dark brown color due to the mud.

Umbreon felt something. She felt that there was something in the water with her, but she couldn't see it. She didn't have frustration; she was too busy getting feelings that were part of being scared.

She tried to see if she could catch a glimpse of anything in the water, but still, there was nothing. She turned and looked down one corner, and gasped. A bump in the water down one hall was coming straight towards her.

Umbreon swam hard. She thrashed in the water and swam as fast as she could. She got to one of the other halls just as the wave passed her, but it stopped right in the middle, and disappeared. Because of the dirty water, she couldn't see what it was.

She didn't turn away from looking at the spot. There was nothing else happening in the water. Still, she refused to stare away.

She felt heat go through her entire body. She felt a warm sensation on her back, but mostly in her head. She shook it away, but she couldn't. That's when she realized, it wasn't a feeling. Something was breathing down on her.

She frantically turned around and saw a big mouth with razor sharp teeth partnering besides her. It rose and Umbreon screamed, trying to swim away. It was a Gyarados.

It gave out a loud roar that shook the place, then jumped back into the water. Umbreon swam as fast as she could to get away from the creature. Normally, she probably would have beaten it, but she was in the water, and couldn't fight.

She swam down the opposite hall and passed the lights shining down on her. Again, the bump of water started, except way behind her. It was coming, fast. So Umbreon did the only thing she could do: swim faster.

The fact that she was a four legged animal wasn't helping her. But nonetheless, she didn't give up.

A few feet before the Gyarados reached Umbreon, the wave disappeared. Umbreon turned around and didn't see anything. But she felt the water behind her rise.

The Gyarados rose from the water and roared again, ready to strike. It headed right for the water, and Umbreon just nimbly got away from the splash. She caught the Gyarados's top horn by her teeth, and was pulled underwater along with the beast.

She could barely see underwater, but she climbed by holding on harder, and gripping as hard as she could onto the Gyarados with her paws. Her rings began to glow. A fury was growing inside of her.

The Gyarados rose above water in a jump and at that second, Umbreon got the time to give out a loud screech at the monster, then breathe again as they went back into the water.

Under the water, Umbreon kept her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were purple. The brown muddy water also became purple. Umbreon couldn't see it, but the Gyarados was getting worried. It jumped out of the water again, but unsuccessful. It slammed into the wall, and fell down again, almost knocking Umbreon off, and crashing into the water.

She had given it a Confuse Ray.

As it slammed into the water, she was scratched around her right leg. For a second, the Gyarados just drifted, but then dove back into the water in life. Umbreon bit into the horns and grabbed on tight.

At this point underwater, the rings became the most brightest they've ever been. When the Gyarados jumped out of the water, through the cut on Umbreon's right leg, she released something she kept hidden most of the times. Umbreon swung herself in front of the beast, right in front of the mouth, and released her poison.

Quickly, she jumped out of the way, and into the water. The Gyarados jumped into the water too. When Umbreon looked down, she realized what was happening.

Her cut, little by little, gave out poison into the water. Whatever would happen, she knew that the Gyarados wouldn't be able to defeat her. It was dying because of the poison in the water. Then, it jumped out of the water.

The Gyarados crashed into the walls of the hall and made rocks fall over to the floor. It jumped back into the water.

It jumped out and Umbreon had to swim away as it crashed into the walls some more, and made more rocks fall. It continued this process.

In and out, in and out, it made a long rampage. Each time, Umbreon had to dodge falling rocks. She swam for her life.

Jump after jump, the halls were breaking down. The water had gotten very rough, making it hard for Umbreon to swim away from falling rocks.

She dodged and dodged, until one rock finally was going to be a direct hit. She had no time to dodge the rock, she had no time to save her life. So she did what she thought would be her last move. She used Faint Attack.

The portal appeared in front of the rock and disappeared. Umbreon concentrated on where it was going to be released. She let it go, and at the right time.

The Gyarados was about to fall back into the water, but the rock smacked right into the head, breaking all three horns.

It fell into the water, and didn't move. Gyarados couldn't survive without those horns. It slowly drifted into the water, and Umbreon knew what was going to happen next. It would bleed to death.

The water was calming, but as it did, she slammed into a wall. She screamed in pain as her leg was caught in one of the rocks. Then she heard movement above. She looked up.

There was a boulder size rock, and it was about ready to fall. Umbreon tried hard to get out, but couldn't. the boulder got looser and looser, and then, fell over.

* * *

Hah! Finally done! Just a little something though for those who are wondering about Umbreon being able to unleash poison, look at the Pokémon: Gold version Pokedex entrée. This is what it says:

When agitated, this Pokémon protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores.


	26. Run for Freedom

Whew, I'm done. To Zohaku: Ah yes, the one and only horror story in the Pokémon catagory that actually lives up to the genre. Very good fic, and to those who read this one, if you're a horror fan, give Pokemon Bloodred a try. It's actually pretty well written for a fic that is constantly up-dated, and doesn't seem rushed. Thanks for the comment, Coldfire, made me feel good.

Just a note, I decided to check up on information on my Pokémon characters, and found out some very interesting characteristics. I tried to put them here, but not all of them. Sorry if this chapter feels rushed.

**Chapter 26: Run for Freedom**

It was a dark hallway. No excitement, no rushing, just quiet. There was a slam at one of the doors, but it stayed closed. Another slam on the same door, but still, it remained shut. There was silence for just some ten seconds, and then the door blasted open with a burst of green energy.

The door broke off its hinges and landed on the other side of the hall, and a Smeargle walked out. It was followed by Jill and Darry, and then the gang they released.

Jill had a look showing that she wanted to take a break, but the ground wasn't made for resting. It was slanted and made it very uncomfortable to rest.

"Where to now?" asked Jill.

Darry remained silent. He looked down the hall and turned around to look at the other archway leading into another hall. He looked the other way again, and then sighed, and said, "I don't know."

Jill looked at the Pokémon behind her. She tried to get some kind of information from them, but knew she wouldn't understand.

Then, an idea came. She ducked down and called the Kirlia. Psy reluctantly walked over to her.

"Do you have any hunch of where we might be safe," she asked. "Better yet, do you know where we can find Char—I mean, do you—uh—can you sense when trainers are near?" she added stuttering.

Psy looked at her with a face of confusion, then asked, "_What_?" telepathically.

Jill tried to find an easier way of saying it, but then Smeargle interrupted.

"Mear!" it said, and pointed straight ahead.

Everyone turned in the direction he was pointing at. There was a dark hall. Almost nothing could be seen.

"What's over there—?" asked Jill, but Smeargle didn't give her time to reply. He ran straight ahead into the darkness. He stopped for a bit, and then looked back.

"Smeargle!" said the Smeargle. He made a 'follow' motion with his hands. Jill looked at Darry who had a face of uncertainty, and then walked over to the Smeargle.

Right when she passed Darry, he grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey!" cried out Jill, "let go of me!"

"Hold on," answered Darry, "I think this is a trap."

_Trap?_ thought Jill. _What did he mean by trap?_

"Just wait." Darry walked forward first and slowly followed the now impatient Smeargle.

"Smear—gle!" yelled out the Smeargle as he tried to get everyone to follow.

Jill looked behind her and said to the other Pokémon, "Alright, come on."

As they followed Smeargle, Jill kept trying to get in front of Darry. She didn't know why he was acting that way, but why would there be a trap? And was he saying that Smeargle was setting a trap, or that there was a trap? If so that there was a trap, then Smeargle would be the first to fall for it.

After walking for a bit more, Smeargle finally stopped. He looked at the wall to his right. There was a picture hanging and the wall seemed to be made of some kind of steel. That's why it surprised everyone, except Darry for some reason, when he reached at it and his paw went right threw it.

Smeargle looked deeply into his paw. It was threw the wall, but the wall felt like liquid. So, he literally, jumped into the wall.

Jill ran to the wall and stopped right outside it. It looked like any other ordinary wall. There was nothing wrong with it, no tricks needed.

She hesitated on what she was about to do. Marshtomp and Skarmory walked right over to her, and stood behind her. Jill turned to Darry, and said, "Bye."

She jumped at the wall, and went right through it.

"Jill!" yelled Darry. He too jumped at the wall passing the Marshtomp and Skarmory, and went right through it. The Skarmory followed, not even hesitating because of the fact that it would go anywhere with its trainer, then the Marshtomp followed after.

After a few seconds, Psy, Fang, and the Pikachu moved towards the wall. They stayed for awhile, then Fang said (perched on top of the picture), "We're not gonna get anything done by just standing here. Let's follow."

So the three, also jumped in.

* * *

Amy was surrounded by the light. The beam circled her, but also shot straight up above the endless ceiling. After awhile, the small aura of light disappeared. Amy didn't stand.

Above, the energy finally hit a hard spot. From there, the rocks holding that place cracked, and it started to fall.

It went al the way down, crashing into the walls and bringing more rocks to fall to it. Then they landed on the ground Amy was on.

The first rock hit straight forward on Alakazam. It didn't stop there. The rock was hit by another rock and the floor below collapsed. An earthquake started, and the floor Amy was unconscious on also broke away, and she fell, unaware.

She fell at the same rate as the rocks did. It seemed to be another endless pit. Darkness elapsed over her. A giant rock just passed, and she didn't even notice.

The darkness below started to get brighter as a ring of fire appeared. She passed that. Unknown to her, the fire was all around a wire substance, and slowly cutting it more.

Darkness surrounded her again. She was still unable to move, or even scream. She didn't know anything that was going on.

Soon, Amy and the rocks smashed into chains. The first rock pretty much broke into the chains and made a whole for the other rocks.

Way down, Houndour glanced away from his current misfortune and saw the rocks coming.

"Oh no!" he yelled, as he was still being brought into the gears. Just then, Amy landed right over him, knocking some air off of him. With the force, and some of the rocks, he was pulled away from the gears and continued to fall.

The other rocks that had passed them broke away any passage for chains. Houndour tried to gain his balance while falling. He called out to Amy.

"Amy! Can you hear me!"

No answer. A rock was about to smash into them, so Houndour (being as close as he was) bite on Amy's neck and pulled her over to his side as the rock passed her.

They were both now flipping through the air, trying to gain balance. Well, at least Houndour was. The gears were deathly close to them, as were the falling rocks.

That's when Amy found the right time to wake up.

"Huh—?" she felt the breeze beneath her. "Ah!" she screamed.

One of the rocks fell in front of the two and crashed into a grinding gear and it stuck out.

"Look out!" yelled Houndour.

The gear slid out of place and started to slide on the side of the rock as it got stuck. Amy and Houndour ended up landing on the gear just as it fell off continued falling.

Now they were both screaming. They were holding on for dearlife; Amy with her claws and her feet hanging miserably, and Houndour with his front right leg and back left leg dug in sharp into an opening.

Amy got to hang on better as the gear shifted, but both almost lost their balance as the gear crashed into the other wall making more gears fall.

Now they were falling with giant rocks _and_ gears, all sharp and telling them only that death was coming for them.

The gear kept flipping making it like a horrifying amusement park ride (not that they've ever ridden in one). Each flip would almost cause certain death.

A rock smashed into the front part of the falling gear and smashed it to pieces, leaving only the back side for Amy and Houndour to hold onto.

"Oh no—!" yelled Houndour.

Amy made the mistake of wondering what he meant. Now she looked up, which was actually down since the gear was flipped, and saw rocks smashing into a ground that wasn't breaking for more ground.

Amy crawled over to Houndour, barely able to withstand the force. She stood and immediately grabbed onto him, in his lower back area, and tripped, to be able to only hold his legs.

"What are you doing!" yelled Houndour.

Amy didn't answer. The ground got closer. She looked at it. Only sixteen feet away.

"Please let this work." She said aloud, then closed her eyes. Underneath her eyelids, they started to glow. "Jump!" she yelled, and pulled Houndour with her. He struggled for awhile, but then fell away too.

A cloudy portal was below them, and they fell right through it. They appeared at some other area, but still not on ground level. When they looked down, they were greeted with the confused face of Umbreon, then fell over her into the water and pulling her under too.

Just as the three were under the water, a splash was heard above them and hit the spot that they fell on. It was a giant rock, too.

The rock fell deeper, about to smash into them, but Amy managed to grab Umbreon (the one who wasn't moving for some reason) and pull her out of the way of the rock's path.

The three arose above, just barely able to take in any breath. Amy pulled Umbreon to the side and started talking to her.

"Umbreon! You're alive!" she looked at Houndour, and then said "You too!"

Houndour gasped in his breath, then replied, "Not entirely."

Suddenly, the water started to feel a little different for the two newcomers. They felt that they were being…drained.

The water wasn't going down, but their energy was. And it started to hurt.

Umbreon could barely say a word, basically because two Pokémon had just knocked the breath out of her _AND_ she was bleeding from her leg since they managed to drag her out of the rocks holding her in place.

"The water—!" Umbreon started, coughing for a bit, then continuing, "It's poisoned!"

Then, the water splashed from all around them. The splash made the water rise higher, and then all the water they were swimming in, disappeared. Amy, Houndour, and Umbreon fell onto a wet and muddy floor, with sharp rocks jutting.

The water went to the ceiling, and then started to get calmer. Umbreon got up and looked around. She looked behind her, in front of her, side to side, then asked, "where did the Gyarados go!"

Amy got up, but with pain now. "What Gyarados?" she asked.

"There was a Gyarados here! I was fighting it! It's gone!"

There was a loud cough, and Amy turned around to see Houndour. He seemed to be coughing out some black substance, but upon closer inspection, you could tell quickly that it was blood.

Umbreon ran over to Houndour's side, just as Amy did.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, he just fell through an 'I don't know how long' tunnel with giant things that could kill us in instances far faster than teleportation."

Umbreon chose to ignore that comment. Houndour moved to the wall, and said, "No, it's not that. I've been poisoned."

"Umbreon walked closer to his side, and said, "I'm sorry; it was the only way I could stop that Gyarados!"

"No, not because of the water. I was bit by an Arbo—hey—what are you doing!"

Amy was at Houndour's side. She was concentrating. Her thoughts were all on Houndour. Then, he cried out in more pain.

"What are you doing to him! Stop that!" yelled Umbreon. She was about to attack Amy, but then purple liquid came out of Houndour. It went into the air, and became nothing more.

"What did you just do?" asked Umbreon.

As Amy finished with her supposed 'magic,' she turned to face Umbreon with a confused expression. "I don't know," she said, "I was just thinking because earlier one of the Pokémon here told me I was part poison now." Then, her eyes widened. "And yet I still used a Faint Attack!"

She turned and looked at the wall. Slowly, she walked towards it. She looked at her claws, then at the wall.

"What are you doing?" asked Houndour.

Amy turned around and looked at them, then back at the wall. Her claws seemed to grow out sharply in an instance, and she started to attack the wall with all he strength.

Umbreon ran over to Amy. "Amy, stop!" she said.

She turned around to face Umbreon. "I have my dark powers back!" she said.

"What are you talking about?"

"When I woke up, before I found myself falling, I couldn't make one single dark type attack. But now I can!"

Houndour looked at the wall. Then, he realized something very wrong. The rocks above were about to give way.

"Look out!" he yelled, and passed Umbreon as she backed away and pushed Amy away. The rock broke off and fell right where Amy was standing. Then, the whole wall broke away to reveal a hall.

Amy got up slowly, as the Houndour got up on all fours rapidly. Umbreon looked ahead into the hall, and saw it lead to many other turns in the place. She looked back at the other two. None of them said a word. However, they did run to the wall and go into the hall. That was something they knew they had to do.

There were more twisting halls of rocks in this hall. But still, it gave them more of a selection now.

"Where do we go now?" asked Umbreon.

The group was quiet. Houndour walked over to one of the walls and looked down a hall. It lead straight forward, then slowly curved up. He turned around and saw another hall. It was the same, but curved down. He looked down his left and saw a hall that just led to more halls.

"Which way is out?" he asked aloud.

Amy too started to get anxious about where to go. She looked around and put her claws behind her head with a questioned look on her face.

"I think we should go up," said Umbreon.

"Then where? What if this place never ends?" said Amy, still looking around.

"This place is built like a human facility," said Houndour, "maybe like humans; they have maps to navigate around here."

"Forget that! Where do we start?" Amy's voice was beginning to sound hysterical.

"Amy, stop," said Umbreon, "let's just go up this path. I have a feeling. My feelings have gotten me out of trouble before, so just trust them. Let's go up."

The three looked down the dark tunnel that led upwards. Slowly and reluctantly, they all entered the hall, and started to climb a 110 degree angle. It took awhile before they saw any sign of it stopping. They continued going, not saying a word to each other. Finally, the end came.

It was hard to get there considering that it completely came to a 90 degree angle at the near top. Amy had to climb up first and then lend a hand to help her four legged companions.

Though, when they were all through, it wasn't what they expected. Sure, they expected to find another hall, which they did. Sure, they also expected to find it empty and have to go back. What they didn't expect, was a find a wall, and chained high over it, unconscious, a Smeargle. The real friend of Houndour and Umbreon.

* * *

Darry hit the ground dirt near Jill. Immediately, he stood up and started brushing away at his body. After this quick reaction, he sighed, and seemed to frown too, then walked over to Jill who was also still getting up.

"Come on," he said, "I help you up."

Just then, Jill's Skarmory entered the area followed by Marshtomp. Not long after that, the others also came through.

Darry and Jill both went to the Pokémon and stood near them, just waiting for nothing in particular. Jill caught a glimpse of Darry looking at her but then he looked away.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Jill, to which in response, got many different Pokémon cries. She took that as a yes.

Smeargle waited for them at the end, near the darkness leading down a tunnel. Jill walked over to him and asked, "Why did you take us down here?"

Smeargle said something in its own language and pointed into the darkness. It was easy to tell that it wanted her to follow.

Jill turned back and looked for an approval as if it made a different from Skarmory. She received just a shrug from the bird-steel type, with its wings clanging together.

She turned to Darry who didn't give any sign to her. Then, she said, "Come on, let's go."

Smeargle led the way into the darkness. Jill and the others followed. It was dark for a moment, then a flash from Smeargle's tail beamed the whole place to light. It was a tunnel.

It was going down at the angle of a normal wheel chair ramp. Rocks were all around the path making it hard for them to cross, but they managed. After walking for a minute, they reached a lightened room.

It was more like a giant stadium. In front of them was a huge rocky bridge line. It was the only thing that connected the place they were standing on to the other side of the room. Everywhere else beside that was just a bottomless pit.

"This isn't safe," said Darry. "Jill, let's go back."

Jill turned around to face Darry. She then turned back to Smeargle, who was already crossing the bridge, but stopped to wait for them.

"What is there down here?" asked Jill.

Smeargle replied in a jumble of words in his language. Jill turned to Kirlia and asked, "Can you translate?"

She nodded, and said, "_He said that there's something down here that you might find interesting._"

She turned back to Smeargle. "Like what?" she asked.

Smeargle answered in his words again. Kirlia translated, "_He says that it has something to do with a Sneasel._"

Everyone was surprised by Jill's quick movement. She jumped to Smeargle and pushed him on the ground, holding him down as he squirmed and yelled some more of his language. "What did you say!" she yelled at the small Pokémon.

"Get off him," said Darry, a bit uncaring.

Jill turned to look at Darry, and Smeargle's tail lit up getting ready to attack. Darry's eyes widened and he said, "Get off him!" and ran over to push her aside. The green energy was shot and hit Darry straight on, pushing him to the floor of the bridge. The other Pokémon ran over to Darry, with only Skarmory running to help Jill.

Smeargle got up, but didn't try to attack. Instead, he looked sorry. Regretful. He said another round of words in his own language, and then did something unexpected. He ran to the side of the bridge and jumped off.

"No!" yelled Jill, while hearing similar replies from the others.

After a minute of silence, she looked over the edge. It seemed to be a bottomless pit. Darkness was everywhere below. She couldn't even see Smeargle.

She turned and looked at Psy, who had finished getting Darry up with the others. "What did he say?" she asked, shaken.

Psy looked over her, as if afraid to answer, but then said, "_He said…Sneasel is still alive…and that he couldn't help you get any farther than here…afraid he might be taken over again…_"

Jill looked over the fall again. "Taken over again?" she asked herself. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Suddenly, Skarmory moved to the side of Jill at a fast motion, and was hit by black energy making Jill cry out as her Pokémon took the hit.

She was going to try to help Skarmory, but Darry yelled out, "Jill look out!" she turned around and saw another black ball of energy was coming for her. She crawled away and it hit the ground floor, but she walked crooked. She twisted and fell to the floor, slowly falling near the edge.

No—no!" she was screaming, trying to hold on. At the last piece jutting out, she grabbed on, trying her best not to see the darkness below. Then, all over the walls above, an army of Pokémon started to run down, towards them all.

* * *

"Hurry, just put him down," said Umbreon.

Amy slowly passed the heavy Smeargle as she clawed herself down too. Houndour was there to make sure that Smeargle didn't land hard.

Soon, the Smeargle was sprawled down on the floor and was surrounded by the three. They looked down, wondering if he was okay. He looked fine. He seemed to just be asleep.

"So, do we just wake him?" asked Amy.

Houndour moved his paw and hit Smeargle softly on the shoulder, trying to get him to wake. Ignoring Amy, he said, "Hey, buddy, can you hear me?"

Silence came from the Smeargle. Amy looked at his breathing. It was with a normal steady pulse. It was possible that he was just dreaming.

Amy walked away and left Umbreon and Houndour to look upon their friend. She looked around the hall and saw even more rooms.

_Are we ever going to get out of here?_ thought Amy.

She turned around and saw the two still trying to awaken their friend. Amy walked back to them and asked, "What now?"

Umbreon turned to her. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, then answered, "Once we wake up Smeargle, we'll go find a way out of here. It's better to have—"

She didn't get to finish. Houndour silenced her, and said, "Did you hear that? Sounded like…" he trailed off.

The three Pokémon listened for nay sound that they could hear. Silently, the noise was getting louder. A soft clatter of footsteps.

"Oh no," said Amy, "what do we do if they find us?"

There was a short silence.

"We should go with them," said Umbreon. "Act like as if we were one of them."

"Didn't we already try something like that?" asked Amy. "And worse," she added, "didn't we _fail_ doing so?"

"We should listen to her, Amy," said Houndour. "If we stay here, chances are we'll be lost forever. We got to find a way out. If we can't act, we'll just silently follow, but staying here is not an option."

A moan came from Smeargle. The three looked at him, but he didn't stir anymore. Houndour continued: "The point is to get out of here. Let's at least follow them."

Amy was quiet for awhile. She looked at both of them, knowing that they would both want to follow the Pokémon. She was about to ask for a vote, but then realized that wouldn't work. Not with Smeargle drunk dead and with those two wanting to leave.

"Alright fine," said Amy, quickly. "Let's just get out of here."

Houndour and Umbreon thanked her, and then went back to their friend. Amy followed and picked up Smeargle, barely able to. Umbreon went to Smeargle's side and straightened him up as she pushed against him. Houndour walked beside Amy and said, "Put him on my back."

She didn't argue. She put Smeargle down carefully on Houndour's unsteady backbone. He found it uncomfortable, but his main objective was getting out of there as fast as possible. He wouldn't be able to move any faster with Amy dragging Smeargle.

The three walked down the hall and came to even more halls. They listened for the footsteps, and then choose which halls to go down. Many other halls were passed, with many other rock formations going up and down, side to side, and all over the place.

Finally, they reached a door. An exact wooden door. The doorknob was wet and made of silver. Amy found it harder to open the door than it was when she was in Ghost's mind. So she went with her alternative.

_CRASH!_

She broke the wooden door to splinters. Inside the room was a laboratory room. Something you wouldn't normally find in a cave.

There were many small gadgets. Amy touched them with her claws. They were very strange; they didn't seem to be made for humans.

These gadgets were made for Pokémon use only. She could tell by the way that they were formed, but why would a Pokémon need a gadget?

_When they were never really Pokémon to begin with_, she answered her own question.

Houndour walked over to a basket and put Smeargle down on it. He was tired after carrying his friend, and so far they hadn't sighted one single Pokémon.

Umbreon stood right beside Amy, admiring the gadgets. That's when one of the gadgets caught her eye.

It was some kind of claw-like weapon. It had some sensors on the side and an open area in the center where there were three claws sticking out. She grabbed it from the table and examined it in her claws.

It seemed that it was meant for any pawed or clawed Pokémon. Amy looked at her own claws and saw that they were too big to fit into the steel glove. So she retracted her claws and tried her best to make them like paws, and tried on the glove on her right hand.

Immediately, it beamed to life. Umbreon stepped closer to see and Houndour walked over to the two.

"Wow," said Amy, "this is weird."

The beaming stopped. They stared at it for a few seconds. Amy got bored of it and tried to take it off, but to no avail.

"Hey, it's stuck," she said.

She started flinging it around the air. She didn't want to panic, but the thing wouldn't let go of her.

She let out a small cry and continued shaking it.

"Help me get it off!"

Umbreon started to bite at it trying to help her, but it was still stuck. Houndour just stared. He didn't know what to think, and he didn't know what to do.

"A little help would be appreciated!" yelled Amy.

"What?" said Houndour, then said, "Oh—yeah, uh, hold on."

He went right next to Amy and told Umbreon to step back. He sucked in some air and let out a small flame. Not enough to burn Amy, but enough to try and get the metal thing off. That's what set it off.

The arm started to glow. A small aura appeared where the claws were and then shot out in front of them.

Houndour jumped away along with Umbreon. Amy was pushed back by the sudden force, and fell to the ground. The aura disappeared from the claws. The three gasped when they saw what it left.

The wall it hit was frozen solid with ice. The ice didn't have the effect of melting, it just stood rock solid.

Houndour walked up to it. He put a paw on the ice. He was thinking.

After a few seconds, he let out the same breath of fire he let out to Amy. The ice didn't melt.

Houndour turned around and looked at the small device, surprised.

"Um, I know we're all kind of shocked by this little scenario that just happened," said Umbreon, "but we should really get going now. I don't want to be here any longer."

Amy played with her claws, getting the hang of moving them in the gadget. She turned to Umbreon, then said, "Can we first get this thing off me?"

Smeargle let out another moan, but stayed asleep.

"You know, we'll figure that out later. Right now, let's just get out of here."

Amy nodded to Umbreon. Houndour walked next to Smeargle and was ready to have Amy put him on top of him.

When she picked him up with the metal hand though, she was surprised.

"Should my hand be heavier now that I have this thing on me?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," said Houndour. "Why?"

Amy surprised herself more by picking Smeargle up with one hand.

"Because, Smeargle feels weightless compared to how he was a couple of minutes ago."

This was very surprising to them. Amy started thinking, then slung Smeargle over her shoulder. It seemed to have brought her down as the weight of the Pokémon was put on her.

"He's easier to carry," she said.

"Are you sure?" asked Houndour.

"Of course I am. Why would I lie about something like this?"

"I don't know. I'm just asking—."

"Do you hear that?" asked Umbreon. The two listened. There were footsteps heard again. Except this time, they were closer. They seemed to be…directly above them.

The three looked at the ceiling. There was no denying it. There were definitely footsteps above them.

"What are they doing?" asked Amy.

Houndour shushed her and started to walk towards the sounds, where they got the loudest. He looked sharper ahead, and saw a hall.

"Come on, let's follow these footsteps," said Houndour, "We might be able to find our way out if we follow someone who lives here."

"Do you think those people live in this huge maze cavern?" asked Amy.

Houndour stopped for a moment. He thought about that for awhile. "Might as well," he said, "If they're stuck, they've probably been here for a long time."

Amy and Umbreon didn't move. Amy shifted Smeargle to her other shoulder to make it more comfortable.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Houndour left into the hall. Umbreon followed right after, and reluctantly, Amy went too.

* * *

Deep down in the watery depths of the ocean floor, many harmless water Pokémon swam. It was completely dark.

Then, from above, a small fishing boat floated down and hit the ocean bottom. Inside the ship, water almost completely filled it. In the cramped hallways left, water was more than halfway full.

When it hit the floor, all the empty cabins inside shook. Inside a room, there was a Pokébelt lying on a desk. It fell to the floor as the ship turned. One of the Pokéballs fell off the belt on hit a sharp wooden frame sticking out, hitting it with the release button.

Out came the Pokémon. Derek's Lapras was released into the water filled room.

It looked around, and thought of only one thing: get out.

So it swam. It broke through the remains of the doors and swam through the cramped halls, until it reached an end with nothing but the ocean remaining.

The hall it had gone down was completely cut off, leaving the darkness of the ocean.

The Lapras looked up and couldn't even see the top of the ocean. But it knew it was there. And it knew that that was probably where it would find its trainer. So it swam up, to get to the top of the ocean.

* * *

Amy Umbreon and Houndour walked onwards in the halls. Every second, they would hear footsteps. They knew they were getting closer, because now they could identify which footsteps belonged to which Pokémon. Finally, they reached the end, which led to an opening threshold leading into a hall. The difference was that this hall had too many Pokémon to count, going together down a hall.

"Where are they going?" asked Amy. Houndour shushed her.

After a long while, they left. Houndour waited a few seconds, then made his way into the room.

"Come on," he called, to which Umbreon followed into the somewhat bright hall. Amy did too, but slower.

"What's wrong?" asked Umbreon.

"Oh—uh nothing," said Amy, "It's just that Smeargle's getting heavy on me."

She was of course lying. Smeargle had never been lighter. She just didn't want to tell them that she had a bad feeling inside her.

"Maybe you should let Houndour carry him?"

"No, it's okay, I can handle him."

"Okay, just remember that you don't have to be doing this. If you want, Houndour could carry him. That is, if he doesn't mind." She looked back at Houndour. "Do you?"

Houndour had a short pause before he replied. "Not at all. I can carry him, seriously."

"I'm fine," said Amy.

"Alright, then come on. Let's go before we lose them."

Without arguing, the three left the room. They went down more halls. They listened closely and followed the other Pokémon. Then, Houndour heard something.

"What does that sound like?" he asked, "Do you two hear that?"

Amy and Umbreon listened. Sure enough, they heard it. It sounded like blasts. Something you would probably hear with when a trainer is battling another in a Pokémon match.

"Are they training?" asked Umbreon.

"I don't know," Houndour answered.

Amy walked ahead of the two, listening. She tried to make her hearing as acute as possible. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Then, after a couple of seconds in thought, she opened them.

"I hear humans," she said.

Umbreon and Houndour exchanged glances, and then Amy took off with Smeargle. Houndour and Umbreon followed.

* * *

Jill grabbed on tight to the side. Darry quickly ran over to her, but then a shadow ball hit right in front of him making dust particles fly up, and him to fall back. The dust fell over Jill's face, and she let go.

She screamed, but then grabbed onto a root. The root stretched out making her fall and dangle dangerously in the air. She didn't want to let go; it was her only thing that meant the difference between her death and her life.

The Pokémon at the opposite side of where they entered got down first, and ran over the rock bridge getting closer to Darry and the Pokémon

"Pikachu!" called Darry. The Pikachu perked its ears up and turned to Darry. "Thundershock!"

Pikachu ran in front of him as the different types of masses of Pokémon got closer. They were only seven yards away from them. The Pokémon on the other side of the rock room, where they entered, reached the floor and started to close in from there, leaving them trapped in the middle of it all.

"Pikachu!" yelled Pikachu, and let out a thundershock. The thunder ran through the rocks, passing many cracks on the floor and reached the first row of Pokémon, shocking them, and they fell of the edge into the darkness of the pit.

"Reverse it, and then again!" he yelled. Pikachu was a bit confused, but then saw Darry was pointing to the Pokémon behind him. He looked down on Marshtomp and ordered, "Use the strongest water attack you know on the row Pikachu just hit."

Pikachu got behind Darry and shot a thundershock again. The same thing happened, and the first row fell flying off.

Marshtomp got all the water he could muster up in his mouth, and then shot the spray. One of the fire Pokémon on the side he shot at threw a Fire Blast and dissolved most of the water coming, but it still hit, dropping many Pokémon down and leaving another gap.

"Reverse it again!" yelled Darry. Pikachu and Marshtomp switched places and shot out, much surprised by the effect. This time, their attacks were much stronger.

They continued this run of attacks four times in a row, but then the Pokémon got closer, leaving no time for the attack. Darry had to try something different, and he had to command it fast.

A blast appeared just in front of Marshtomp, making him jump back. It was a watery blast, and quickly became ice. The ice grew and made a wall in front of him, and the Pokémon on the other side started to attack the ice wall to get through.

On the other side, the same thing happened to Pikachu. A wall of ice formed. They looked to see where it was coming from, but failed to spot any sign.

Way up high where the Pokémon had first entered, Amy set down her hand, as she had just made an overpowered version of Blizzard. Houndour and Umbreon looked as the Pokémon that tried to get through the ice turned around, and spotted them. Not all of them, but then a very few started running back to try and get to them.

"That should buy them some time," said Amy, picking up Smeargle from the floor.

Houndour looked at the bridge. Fire, rock, and water types were hitting the floor of the bridge, trying to break it.

Back below, Darry took the time of the walls being up to help Jill. he looked over the edge and saw her in tears, holding on for the sake of her life.

"I'm coming!" Darry yelled, but he didn't know how he would.

Kirlia came to Darry's side and stood looking over the edge. She closed her eyes and put her hands in front of her. Then, with her physic, she brought the roots up, getting them closer.

"That's it," said Darry. He looked over the edge, and then gasped.

Way below in the darkness, a smoky substance started to form. It twirled in circles, and was rising towards the bridge.

Darry bent down and reached out with his hand, ready for Jill to grab. "Come on!" he said, "I got you!"

Jill was afraid to let go of the roots. Kirlia brought her close enough for Darry to touch the roots, in which he did, and helped Jill onto the bridge. Then came a crack.

As Darry held onto Jill, he looked at the floor they were on and saw the bridge was breaking, from the center. They couldn't escape, the ice walls were keeping the Pokémon outside.

Amy, Houndour, and Umbreon slid down the side of the rock cavern. Flying and water types came up to them, attacking, trying to make them lose a hold of the rocks, but they attacked them every time they got near.

To the flying types that would fly over them throwing gusts and other attacks, Amy would shoot with her new weapon. To the water types, Umbreon and Houndour would dodge with faint attack and get closer to them, then push them off so they fell down hard.

They soon reached solid ground. Almost solid, that is.

Amy threw ice attacks from her weapon and shot at any of the Pokémon that got near, then made an ice road in front making most of the Pokémon slide off the edge.

Amy threw her ice attack forward and made a curve, locking the Pokémon where they were on the bridge. She then used faint attack, and disappeared from Houndour and Umbeon's side.

Both of them used faint attacks to get across the ice and attack at random Pokémon, and then a few seconds later, Amy returned with the subconscious Smeargle in her hands. That's when they felt the bridge teeter.

In the center, the bridge was beginning to collapse. The center was going down every second, leaving Darry to hold Jill and protect the Pokémon he had. Then, the black entity arose from below.

It streaked across above, and more of it flew upwards. It started to float over the entire bridge. It easily was destroying the ice that Amy had created.

The black mist shot for Darry and Jill. Darry pulled Jill back and it missed, hitting Marshtomp square on and pushing him over the edge.

"Marshtomp!" screamed Kirlia in her language as he fell over to curtain death.

More of the black substance crossed, making Darry be more careful and dodge, but he didn't know how to keep it up. Fang stayed above, screeching and dodging the dark clouds.

The dark substance swept the rock bridge again, and dragged Kirlia off the bridge too as she screamed.

Amy, Houndour, and Umbreon crossed the ice Amy created and attacked the remaining Pokémon, crossing the bridge and trying to stay away from the black substance. It was hard for Amy to shoot now that she was holding Smeargle too, who unbelievingly still wouldn't awaken. Apparently, not even the mist of battle could wake him. Even if he was in it.

There were very few Pokémon left as they continued their run and attack along the bridge, but it was getting steeper as the bridge was in collapse mode.

Right when they passed the center, Amy shot an ice attack to seal the damage from the center and prevent it from breaking.

"Jill!" Amy shouted to her trainer, who was being helped by Darry.

Jill turned around when she heard, "Snee!"

"Sneasel!" yelled Jill, and broke away from Darry's grasp. Just then, the black substance hit in front of Darry and made him fly over to the other edge. Jill stopped in her tracks and looked at him, suddenly remembering that they were in a battlefield.

He slowly was getting up, but then the mist hit him directly and pushed him through the opening they had entered through. It didn't stop there. It continued pushing him, right onto the point when he hit the transporting wall that led back to the ship.

Darry flew through the wall as it made a watery feel and slammed into the wall behind him, breaking it and falling into the next room. He didn't get up. He was left unconscious. And now, there were five guns pressed against him.

Rocket members looked down at Darry, then turned to see the wall he came through. They raised their weapons there, expecting to be greeted by some powerful Pokémon. There was nothing.

"This kid just came out of nowhere!" exclaimed one Rocket.

Venn looked at Darry. "He looks like a teen to me," she said. She looked at her comrades. "Let's get out of here. Whatever threw him through that wall could easily do the same to us."

The Rocket's stood there, not moving. "Come on, let's go!" yelled Venn. They snapped back to reality, and followed Venn out. Darry was left alone.

Back at the cave, Amy and Jill rejoiced their reunion for a short time, then jumped away from each other as the black substance crossed them. Houndour dragged Smeargle by the leg, trying to get him up and bringing him to safety at the same time. Umbreon followed behind, occasionally tossing dark type attacks at Pokémon that were still coming.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Houndour, letting go of Smeargle for a bit, but getting him again and dragging him. Amy was about to get Smeargle, but then Jill ran over and picked him up instead, easily.

"Run!" she yelled, and they ran as the black mist tried to grab them. Skarmory and Pikachu were nowhere to be found anymore. Fang flew below right behind them, being now the only Pokémon that was with Jill, still with her.

Right when they entered through the entrance, Umbreon got stuck with her leg on one of the rocks. She pulled away, but couldn't get free.

"Wait!" she called for the others, "Come back! Please!"

Amy heard this cry for help, and turned around. Jill and Houndour kept going. Eventually, they disappeared through the portal. And that's when the ceiling started to close, going low.

"I'm coming!" yelled Amy. She ran back to Umbreon as the ceiling was closing, and looked at Umbreon's back leg. It was wedged in, and bleeding. When Amy looked into Umbreon's eyes, she saw hopelessness.

"Please," Umbreon made a silent plea, "I don't want to die…"

Before Amy could reply, the dark mist attacked Umbreon, swallowing her whole, and taking her back into the room before.

Amy fell and crawled backwards, unable to believe what just happened. The ceiling was closing, and she just sat there, with tears welling up in her eyes.

The mist came back and tried to grab Amy, but she snapped back into reality and ran up to the portal.

"No…" she said silently, as she had to crawl due to the wall getting low. Just five feet away was the portal.

"Ah!" she yelled and gave a final push, and so did the curse. It pushed Amy as she pushed, and both her and the dark substance went through the wall, where on the other side was Jill.

Jill was attacked straight forward with the darkness, and then brought onto the floor. The curse surrounded her. She found it hard to breathe. Darry and Amy were nowhere to be found.

Houndour tore away at the black substance, trying to get it away, but it was useless. The curse gave a final push into Jill, and then left the room in a flash.

Houndour slowly walked over to Jill, with Fang following him. Smeargle coughed, and was showing signs of awakening. Just for a bit, but then went back into a slumber.

Jill had just been cursed with Amy.

* * *

Wow, almost half the cast went out the window! lol

If you're wondering how the heck Darry somehow _knew_ Smeargle wasn't being...himself, I guess, it all has to be here in the story. You'll see. Once again, thanks for the review Coldfire and Zohaku...Oh, and Ezekel. :P


	27. Fire Nini

I actually finished this chapter a week and a half ago, but waited til I was done with the fifth chapter of my other story. Short, I know. Sorry.

**Chapter 27: Fire Nini**

"Please…whatever either of you were doing, just stop…"

Zap let the last words trail off. He didn't know what happened during the time he was gone, but it unfortunately had to start a fight between Ghost and Rachel. He didn't want that; he didn't want his wife to be fighting at all for that matter.

Ghost stepped back, and slid down on the table cart he was on before, as if he was fighting against his own mind now. He didn't notice that the slight push of the cart dropped the gasses, and with its cylinder shape, fell over the table and hit directly at his head.

"Ow!" yelled Ghost, putting his claws over his head. He looked at the gas for a moment, then kicked it away. It rolled on the floor fast and hit the wall, and silently rolled away around the corner. On the other side, the tank rolled over a bump on the floor and hit a sharp stand jutting out, picking at the lever and releasing the gas. The bump made the gas tank stay right where it was.

"Wha—what the hell just happened—!" yelled the scientist, whom Charley still had on the floor. Charley pushed away from him making the scientist start cussing at him some more, but Charley, along with Nini, entered the room.

"None of you three are going to start a fight—are you?" asked Charley. _I've had enough of that already_, he silently added.

"Help! Somebody, help!" yelled the scientist.

Charley, Nini, and the three Pokémon in the room chose to ignore the pleas.

"Hey," said Charley again, "you guys are okay, right?"

"Yeah…" replied Ghost silently. But he wasn't okay. He had just stopped acting like a killer for the moment. The gas tank was throwing the pressure of the controlling mist continuously, with them unknown.

"We got to get out of here." Charley turned to walk to the door, but stopped suddenly. There was an Aqua member standing in their way. He had an AK-47 in his arms. Behind him, the scientist that was screaming for help was being carried by other members.

The man chose that moment to pull a lever on the side of the door. In a fast motion, a metal wall slid down, breaking the hinges of the door that had been there.

"No!" Charley yelled silently, and aimed his hand at the door, with his eyes glowing. It stopped just before reaching the ground, enough space for someone to crawl through. On the other side, the Aqua member was suddenly surprised.

The Aqua Grunt stepped back, wondering what had just happened. The scientist was fully up and being supported by the other grunt, and yelled to the weapon wielding grunt, "They're probably cursed. Shot them!"

"How? The door's in the way."

"Get down there and shoot through the bottom!" yelled the scientist, pointing at the given small space below.

The grunt hardly had any experience being in Team Aqua. He was just recruited two weeks before, only getting the essential knowledge of being in the team. But he did know one thing: obey all higher authority ranked officials. A scientist was high enough.

On the other side, Charley was using all the strength he could muster. Zap, Rachel, and Ghost moved up to him, and waited in front of him. They didn't know what to do in the situation, so they waited for the command. Though, the command wasn't needed.

Charley gave one last grunt. A gun went underneath the doorframe, coming closer to shoot in, then the door slammed down on it, breaking it in half. With his powers used continuously, Charley pulled again. The door pulled up fast and showed the Aqua member on the floor, with another gun in his hands, a pistol, and ready to shoot.

Not taking any chances, Zap shot out a thundershock and got the Aqua member on the hand, making the gun fall out. Nini ran over to the Aqua, ready to kick him, but the Aqua member kicked back and pushed her into the room again, making her fall over a rolling chair and onto the ground.

Charley jumped out into the hallway and landed right on top of the Aqua member, making sure he stayed down. Then, the door hatch descended down again.

Zap and Rachel got through the bottom just in time, but left Nini and Ghost behind the door.

"Nini!" yelled Charley. He ran to the door and slammed his fist on it. A metallic sound came off. He knew that it was no use.

Just as Charley was about to use his powers to bring the door up, he felt a pain at his back. It sprung into a jolt, and he realized that something hit him.

He turned around slowly, unable to hear anything now. Time slowed down. He saw Zap and Rachel yelling, but his Pokémon hearing seemed to have shut out. And there on the floor, he saw the Aqua member, with a gun in hand and smoke rising from the end shot.

Charley kneeled down, now just hearing Zap and Rachel yelling in their Pokémon shouts. He fell back against the door, and then to the side leaving some blood smeared on the door. It was his blood.

The Aqua member wasn't smiling. He also didn't have an indifferent look. In his eyes, was the look of true terror. Charley could tell that the man had never killed another man. And he was sure now that he was going to die.

Time seemed to speed up again. The Aqua member just stared, and barely looked to the side of him to be greeted by the teeth of Zap as he bit down into him.

The scientist was getting away, trying to hang on to the walls. Rachel didn't allow that.

She threw a blast of fire at him, making the scientist fall to the floor on his back. He screamed in pain no one could imagine.

Rachel jumped on him, walking over his chest and stood on top of the man.

"I order you to get off!" yelled the scientist. Rachel swiped at his chest, making a light line and the scientist screamed again.

After a short while, he spoke up again, softer. "Please…I just work here…" he started to get teary eyes. "I'm just like everyone else. I have a family! Ahh!" the scream came as an answer to Rachel's fire flowing over his head. More tears from the scientist. "I don't want to die here…I'm sorry honey…I've failed to come home again…"

Rachel prepared for the last attack to kill him, but Zap pushed her off him. He slammed her against the wall, pinning her. He then whispered into her ears, "What are you doing? You almost killed him!"

Flashes came into Rachel's mind. Terrifying flashes. _Ileana_.

Rachel closed her eyes and knew what was coming.

_Fighting. Training. Healing. Captured. Hostages. Death. Runaway. …Zap._

_Team Aqua. Killers. Murderers. Dangerous. Lead to death. They must die for their causes!_

"No!" yelled Rachel, trying to pull away from Zap, "he needs to die! They all need to die!"

"No they don't. Get a grip on reality!"

Rachel loosened her struggles. Zap pulled away from the pushing. Behind him, there was an unconscious Aqua member.

"Zap…is he—?"

"He's not dead." Zap answered rather quickly. Rachel looked at the man on the floor, and saw shallow breathing. Then, her eyes came to Charley.

"What about your…_trainer_?"

Zap didn't answer. He stared at Charley. He was on the floor, and to Zap, he looked dead.

"He's…gone."

Rachel looked away and turned to the scientist. He was now trying to crawl away from the scene. He was probably going to find someone in the submarine who could help. He turned around, and gasped, staring past the two.

Rachel turned to see where he was looking at, and also gasped. Zap was the last to look, but with no different shock.

A white light engulfed Charley, swirling around him. The scientist backed away, screaming over and over that Charley was a cursed one. When the light faded away, Charley opened his eyes. Both were glowing white.

"Charley?" Zap ran over to him. He stood right by him, then nudged his head at his side.

"What happened?" asked Rachel. Just as she said that, a pole was thrust through the security shut door. At first, Zap thought that it was just Nini and Ghost trying to get out. But then he noticed something. The end where the pole stuck out was with blood.

The pole retracted back into the room. Charley turned over, a little stunned by what was going on. But the same confusion in his mind, was the same confusing faces pasted upon Zap and Rachel.

* * *

"No!" Nini yelled, as she pulled herself up and saw the door closing down again.

"Nini!" yelled Charley. She crawled past the tiled floor, but the door shut before she could reach it.

"No!" yelled out Nini. She got up and slammed into the door, causing no effect. As she gained her composure, she looked around the area. It was a solid room. She slid down from the door and onto the ground.

"Great," she said silently. The only sound in the room was from the ventilation system. Ghost coughed for second.

_Oh, what now?_ she thought. Nini looked around again. Then, she noticed Ghost, just staring at her. He was breathing, slowly.

"Uh, are you OK?"

Ghost didn't respond. His breathing was getting less.

Nini got up and ran over to him. "Are you OK?" she asked. Then, out of nowhere, he jumped up and kicked her.

Nini fell to the floor, with a small _oph_. She looked at Ghost, still lying there.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Ghost continued to glare at her, seeming to decide. He closed his eyes, and fought over himself. Then, he jumped to the side where pipes rode up and down, and shot shadow balls at them.

Dark blasts after dark blasts. They kept going and going, until the end of the steel pole broke off and fell to the floor.

Nini got up and backed away. Ghost armed himself with the pole.

"Be careful with that," she said, trying to talk Ghost out of what he was doing. But it didn't work. Ghost ran at her with the pole.

Nini jumped out of the way just in time, and it hit a fridge, piercing it. Red liquid flowed out of the hole on the wall as Ghost pulled the pole out. He looked at Nini, his diamond eyes glinting. Then he lunged again.

Nini caught the end of the pole, which was slippery with the red liquid. The fridge opened, revealing bags that fell to the floor. On the side, the bags each red different blood types, and one of them was ripped open.

"Stop it Ghost!"

Ghost wouldn't stop. Instead, he pushed more.

Nini led him to the other side, while still holding the pole. Ghost thrust the pole against her, making Nini gasped. She was close to being pinned between the door and the pole. So she let go, and fell to the floor as the pole crashed right at the door, breaking through and making a hole.

Ghost let out a shout of anger. He pulled the pole back, dropped it, and stomped on the ground. Slowly, Nini got up, looking over Ghost.

"Ghost, what's gotten into you?" she asked.

Ghost stared at her again, with his deadly gaze. There was silence from the two, then Ghost somehow managed to go faster than Nini's eyes could compete with, and appeared right in front of her.

He slid under her and grabbed onto the fallen rolling chair. He used it as a springboard and jumped on Nini's head.

"Ahh!"

Nini thrashed in the room with Ghost on her. She crashed and fell over the table Ghost had laid on. She tried to pry Ghost off her, but he wouldn't let go. Nini fell on her side and landed on the tank that was still releasing air.

"Huh?" she said, still in pain but trying to grasp what she had just fallen on. Nini rolled and hit the wall, making Ghost let go and letting her see.

Nini looked at the tank, releasing its gasses. She crawled over to it and picked it up, then picked herself up and looked around the room.

She held the tank with both hands, but grasped it like a baseball bat. She looked around the room, trying to find Ghost.

"Where are you?" she whispered. Suddenly, Ghost popped up right in front of her, hanging from the ceiling.

"Ahh!" yelled Nini as she stumbled back. She hit a beam light and fell onto another table. As she did, the bottom broke and the table tilted to the side dropping her.

Nini didn't have anytime to react, because right then, the beam fell right over her, trapping her right where she was. The tank slid slowly towards, and Ghost stood right in front, smiling.

"What's—wrong with you!" yelled Nini, as she started to bleed from her head.

Ghost kept his smile, and turned the beam knob high. The lights that covered Nini turned to a blazing degree. Nini tried to struggle free, but the beam was wedged on top of her too tight.

The beam burned out, in a surge of electricity startling Nini. Now it was the gasses of the beam just being released.

Ghost stuck the tank in with Nini, and with one swift swipe, he scratched the side of the beam and ran away.

On the mark he made, a spark flew out. Quickly, it ignited with the gasses, and then the whole place Nini was at burned, including her.

Her screams echoed through the room. The explosion caused half the metal table to fly straight to the door, and it opened fast as the door was knocked away.

* * *

"What the—?"

Zap looked at the hole on the side of the door. He turned to Rachel and motioned for her to come back to Charley. She didn't hesitate.

"Charley, are you alright?" asked Zap. His eyes had stopped glowing by now.

"Ye—yeah," Charley said silently. He tried to get up, but failed. Instead, he just stayed where he was.

"You need help," said Zap.

"No—I just recovered already. It'll only take a moment before I can get total control."

Zap turned to face Rachel. She didn't knew what to do, she didn't even knew Charley.

"What do we do now?" asked Zap. Just as he did, the door exploded with a chunk of metal flying through it, nearly hitting Charley. Zap, Charley, and Rachel looked at the doorway and saw a menacing looking Sableye.

"Ghost?" asked Zap. Then, he noticed the burning fire behind him. "What happened in there—?" he stopped short, as he noticed Nini's hand poking through the bottom, burned to a crisp.

"Oh my god!"

Ghost's smile spread, as he stared Zap down. Zap got in his battle stance, ready to take Ghost on.

"Nini…" it was a faint cry from Charley, who could barely see past the two.

Ghost ran at Zap, who tried to block, but then he jumped over him and went for Charley.

"Wha—?" Charley didn't have enough time to move. He could barely move at all.

Rachel let out a flamethrower attack and pushed Ghost away with the force. Zap ran at Ghost and pinned him against the wall, like it did with Rachel.

"What's the matter with you? Did you kill Nini?"

Ghost tried to get away from Zap, but he pushed him back against the wall. Zap didn't wan to let loose a mad dasher.

With a swift hand, Ghost punched Zap.

Stunned, Zap moved back trying to shake away the pain, and Ghost ran for Charley, claws out and ready to kill.

Another fire attack pushed Ghost against the wall, this time, a fire blast.

Zap looked, as he stared at Ghost slump down from the attack, extremely weakened.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in you, Rachel," said Zap, quite surprised.

Then, Rachel did the next surprise. "I didn't fire that attack…"

Zap looked away from Ghost to look at Rachel. "What do you mean?" he asked. In the instance, there was a sound. it sounded like a footstep. No, a heavy stomp. But not of a foot, but a _paw_.

Zap, Rachel, and Charley turned around and looked at the door that Ghost had came from. There was silence from all of them, as a Ninetales walked out of the room, red eyes showing a burning ambition, either of satisfactory or of not nearly enough.

Behind the Ninetales, Nini's body was nowhere to be found.

* * *

I could've spiced it up a bit more, but then it would've just thrown the story off balance. XD 


	28. Nightmares

Editted version! Well, just the ones that Coldfire pointed out and a couple I found along the way. Enjoy.

**Chapter 28: Nightmares**

Jill slowly opened her eyes. She expected to see the ceiling, and Houndour looking over her as she awoke. Nope, that wasn't what she saw. Instead, there was only darkness to greet her.

She rose from the ground and found that there was a short fog effect on the ground. All around her for miles off was darkness. She looked at every turn, getting uncomfortable.

"Hello?" she called out. She wanted really badly for there to be an answer. Anyone to answer back would be good. But her echo just rang off into the distance.

She stood up straight and stayed still. She froze for a moment, trying to get everything to fall into place. How did she get there? What happened?

Slowly, she walked back. She walked for just a few seconds, and then turned around to see even more miles of nothing and fog. Then there was a slight blur.

She fell to the floor, startled. She glanced all around her, getting even more frightened. Behind her, a claw slowly rose from the floor. It had two white sharp knife-like claws, unfurling up. It wasn't until the noise of them sliding together that Jill turned and looked. But there was nothing.

"Hello?" she called out silently again. Winds started to pick up in the direction that Jill was facing. They lapped at her face, pushing her back, but she fought the force to stay standing. She gave a weak cry as she pushed forward. The fog was flowing away revealing the rocky ground. Then the wind pushed her with all its strength and she flew across the huge space.

"Ahhh!" she screamed as she was tossed across. The floor broke away and the wind stopped, making her fall straight down. Her screams continued.

With a sudden jerk, she stopped in midair. She felt the pain of theviolent stopvibrate throughout her body.

"Ow," she said. That was all she could say at the moment. Anything else and she'd be wondering how she mustered the strength to say those.

Now she wasfloating in midair, stranded. She tried to shake loose from the invisible bonds holding her, but they kept on tight. The fog returned and covered the ground, and just a few seconds later, she was dropped onto solid ground.

She was sprawled on her back, after she fell and slammed her head on the new concrete. She got up with her hands behind her head, groaning and trying to hold the pain.

That's when she noticed the figure in front of her. No, not figure, Amy.

"Ow—Amy—are you okay?" she asked, trying to stop the pain in her head. Amy didn't respond. As a matter of fact, after close inspection, Jill wondered if this even was Amy. The Sneasel walked towards her. This would've been comforting if Jill was only sure that that was Amy.

Amy got on top of Jill's legs and stood there, like a cat would except standing.

"Amy?" asked Jill. Just a few seconds after that, Amy thrust her claws into Jill, making her gag and choke. Blood filled her mouth making her spit, with the dark red liquid landing on her supposed beloved Sneasel. Amy removed her claws fast and red liquid again ran from the wounds.

Jill couldn't utter any words to stop this creature. She was stunned, and unable to move. She was unable to even speak. The only thing she could do was stare in disbelief.

"Wh—uh—uh—," Jill tried, but her life seemed to be draining away from herbecause ofthat one attack.

_Nightmares._

With what little consciousness left in her, she looked around to find who said that word. She heard it in a boy's voice. Charley's.

_Is it a nightmare?_ she thought. She looked deeper into her thoughts, and said that word in her mind. _Nightmare nightmare nightmare nightmare!_

Pain returned harder this time. Amy got off of her as the blood floated upward in front. It turned into a gassy liquid and circled all around Jill's waistline and then rubbed. With the rubbing, it entered inside her body and healed the claw wound Amy had caused her. The skin returned to it's natural place and connected again with each other fixing them together.

After she could finally breathe, she screamed.

"Ahhhhhhh! Somebody help me!" she yelled. Amy just looked at her, like how she was during the time the blood was returning. She shook her head, as if Jill was doing something wrong.

Jill crawled away from Amy, scared of her Pokémon. Just as she put her hand behind her, she felt a wetness on the floor. It was a liquid, but felt very slippery. Too slippery to be water. She reaised her hand and saw water drip. She looked down, but there was nothing she could see due to the fog that had risen over the floor comepletely.

"Do you like your life?"

Jill turned around startled. There was no one in the room but her and Amy. Still she glanced around. Then, Amy ran up to her in an incredibly fast speed and appearing face to face with Jill. Not a very comfortable sight done extremely fast, like how it was done to Jill. As a matter of fact, it frightened her as soon as she saw Amy in front of her, ultimately leading for her to jump on the floor and crawl back more. Amy got off her as soon as she did, but when she calmed, she got back on her.

"Answer the question," said Amy with a firm voice. It was Amy who was speaking.

Jill couldn't say anything. She was horrified just seeing Amy talking. "Wh—who are you?" asked Jill. "You're not Amy…"

"But I am," replied the Sneasel. Jill looked into the Pokémon's eyes, trying to catch any sign that she was bluffing. But there was nothing to spot on the dark type's black fur covered face. Amy backed off and had her back to Jill. "Okay, so you got me at not technically being her."

"Huh?"

Amy turned around, her eyes flashing and her claws as white and sharp as ever. "Believe this; I'm in control of her body right now," said Amy.

"What are you talking about," asked Jill, wishing she didn't ask and remained quiet.

"Jill, you need to know something," she said, making Jill slowly rise to her feet and tower over her. "You're cursed."

"Cursed? With what?"

Amy seemed to laugh for a bit. Jill was still confused. Quickly, Amy turned around and shouted, "THIS!"

She shot ice beams out of her claws and they flew straight up. Suddenly, the space seemed to be turned sideways a little making Jill get unbalanced. Then it completely turned over and Jill fell to the bottom, which used to be the top while screaming all the way.

* * *

Slowly, Amy gained consciousness. She opened her eyes, and spotted only water off in the distance. She turned around and there was water again. She looked behind her and more water. Then, she tried to breathe and found out that indeed, it was water she inhaled. 

Amy struggled at theliquid, realizing that she was trapped in an abyss of some ocean. She couldn't tell how far off the water was, but she had to get out of there. She started swimming upwards, and noticed that her metal weapon arm was gone. She pushed that thought away and thought of her escape. There had to be an exit up. There just had to.

Finally, she reached a hard surface. Really hard. She smacked her head into it, and now was holding it in pain. She shook it off noticing her limited amount of air in her lungs, and pressed against the ceiling. It was like trying to break cement five feet thick. She hit and hit at it, not giving up. Not wanting to die.

Amy stopped suddenly. She knew what she had to do now. She just didn't do it because she had panicked. She quickly threw away anything that made her uncomfortable there. She got rid of all thoughts that were getting her to think she _wouldn't_ make it. And then she focused. Above her, a hole of darkness appeared. With quick swiftness, she plunged upwards and through the hole appearing in the next room.

Now it was as if she was in a tub. The body of water she was still in due to the faint attack still being focused had her right in-between the line. She was taking in deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. After a short while of inhaling, she pulled herself up making the portal below her close shut. After that, she just sorta lay there.

Amy didn't want to do anything else. She just wanted to sleep and not wake up. She didn't have the energy to do anything. So as a second thought of something to do, she just left herself sprawled on the floor and hoped for the best.

She looked in front of her and stopped her breathing for a moment. She was looking at a foot. She looked up and saw who the foot belonged to. Amy was filled with relief as she saw Jill standing right there above her.

She got to her feet. "Jill! We're together again!" she said in joy, but stopped as she saw the serious expression on her face. Jill seemed a bit too serious. "What's wrong?" she asked, knowing well enough that her trainer wouldn't know what she was saying. But there was something that would be surprising if Amy knew sooner. Jill _understood_ what Amy said.

"You know, these moments would be the best ones anyone can have," Jill said. "We have a reunion now. You don't have to worry about a thing Amy. I'm fine. You however are something I'm going to have to deal with."

"Huh?" asked Amy. She was confused by the wording of Jill's words. She never really spoke that way. At least not to Amy's knowledge.

Jill squatted down and got face to face with Amy. "You are not going to live through this," she said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Amy, confused. She stepped back now uncomfortable about being near her trainer. She felt a little afraid of being near her now. Not the way she'd imagine after being separated for an entire night.

Suddenly, Jill jumped forward and grabbed a hold of Amy's neck. She forced down, bringing the Sneasel down with her. They struggled on the ground.

Amy was gasping for air as her lungs reported needing the windpipe unlocked. But they were too securely shut tight by the hands of Jill. Amy used her claws and clawed at the hands, trying to make them let go. She unwillingly and with complete sorrow slashed at Jill's hands. They left scratches on her trainer, but she wouldn't let go.

_They're nightmares, Amy._

Time seemed to stop for a certain amount of time. Amy was thinking now. _Who said that?_ she wondered. But then, she realized where it came from. She remembered her conversation with Charley after the elevator broke loose and almost led to their death. He was telling her about the curse and what it did. Amy had asked what the curse gave them only half-ly paying attention, and Charley responded with, _They're nightmares, Amy._

_Nightmares_, thought Amy. _Nightmares…they're all just a nightmare…it isn't real…_

Jill's tightness lessened and gave Amy a chance to cut free. Literally. But that wasn't something Amy was planning to do. She didn't want to cut off her trainer's hands just to get free, being a nightmare or not. It was just something she didn't want to live with. Instead, she aimed her claws right at Jill's stomach. "Sorry…" Amy said silently, and shot an ice beam at her trainer throwing her across the room.

Amy fell to her knees and rubbed her neck. It felt very weak there. She felt the marks Jill had left on her neck. She felt like crying right there, but just couldn't. If she did, who knows what her trainers would've decided on taking advantage.

Jill got up slowly. There was ice all over her chest and breast, going down to some still being on her pants too. Some parts of the ice had red on it; showing sharp ice had broken through the body to pierce inner flesh. She stumbled as she tried getting up.

"What…happened to you?" asked Amy. She rose to her feet with her right claw still on her neck, and started backing up.

There was a sudden rush behind Amy. It started as a small quake and gradually grew. She turned around and saw nothing in the dark abyss at first. Then way far off, everything was turning red.

Amy faced Jill again, who smiled. A blue veil appeared in front of her and then wrapped all around Jill. It was a force field of some kind. There were static charges going up and down it.

The quake became louder making Amy face the red again. That's when she saw a firewall forming up at the end. And it was coming fast.

Amy turned back to Jill. "The fire—," she started, but saw the mean smile placed upon her trainer's face. She turned back to see the fire crashing into the floor and stepping over itself. It made the floor crack each time it went over it.

Amy ran at Jill and got ready. She jumped and was just seconds away from Jill's shield. Her claws went a shade of black and a portal appeared in front of her. She yelled a last cry as the fire caught up and jumped through the portal to appear inside the bubble with Jill. She closed the portal fast just as fire scratched at her face and left an unseen burn mark.

Jill had turned around and saw her. She didn't have her smile anymore. She brought back her serious expression again. Amy stayed down on the floor, afraid to get up and confront her trainer.

The fire passed and the force field vanished leaving only them two standing there.

"Jill…what's wrong with you?"

Jill didn't say anything for a moment. She seemed to wait until Amy got to her feet again.

"Nothing's wrong with me. There's plenty wrong with _you_!" as soon as she said 'you', she pounced on Amy. Amy tried to break away, but Jill held on tight. When Amy would try to squeeze out, Jill would grab her from the shoulders and bring her back to her. They were fighting on the ground, Amy on her back trying to get free and Jill trying to keep Amy down.

Jill used her elbow and hit Amy in the face making her bleed from her nose.

_Ow_, thought Amy, practically screaming it in her mind. She was even crying in her mind, trying to hide the fact that she was afraid of her trainer. Even though she was significantly stronger.

_Stronger._

"Please forgive me," said Amy, and instead of using her claws for escaping, she used then for swiping. She started tearing away at Jill's hands, making her back up. Jill was getting hurt and getting tons of scratches as the Sneasel kept the constant hits on her. She stopped trying to get her and turned over, Amy stopping.

Now she couldn't move. As a matter of fact, to Amy, it looked like Jill couldn't even _breathe_.

"I'm sorry…" said Amy.

Jill was struggling with her own life now. She was trying to cough, but couldn't. she couldn't move. The only thing that let her move was the fact that she was shaking from the blows.

There were scratch marks all over her. The claws of Amy had made dug in deep. This was an attack that could kill a human. And right away, Amy regretted doing itfor the fact that it was her _trainer_ she attacked.

"Guess…what…" said Jill. Amy heard her and without a second ran closer to her, hovering over Jill. "I'm…in control…of Jill's body right now…" Amy had suddenly starting breathing heavily, with the feeling of weights being brought on her after each breath. "You…may have well…killed her…" a light of blue, except of a lighter color, maybe aqua, surrounded her and made her glow in that same color. "Bit…" She didn't finish. Instead, the light took her away, and she disappeared.

Amy sat there in disbelief. She felt like crying. Then the fire came back in an instant and surrounded her too. She still felt like crying, and not because of the fire. Then the fire transformed her to ashes, and she was gone.

* * *

It was the second time she opened her eyes, but this time, not in water. She looked around her and felt that she couldn't move. She was chained with her claws and arms being hung high. And there was fire everywhere. 

There was a blazing inferno all around the area. The floor was creaking as it was made of wood and was covered in fire. Amy could see that below it was a giant room. Much to like the one she and Charley were in before.

_And if the place is identical, then that means that…_

Amy looked up and saw her trainer, Jill, also tied up above her. Naked.

As she had looked, images of a life flashed behind her eyes. Not hers though, _Jill's_. she saw everything Jill saw. She saw Jill's past. She saw Jill's last birthday. She saw Jill's family. She saw Jill's younger sister's face put all over the TV showing as she was a victim in the hostile situation at a Pokémon, where an apparent Team Aqua had killed her on a loss of a demand. She saw Jill and her family shed tears at the funeral and the no return of her sister's Eevee who had disappeared. She saw Jill as she first got Amy from her uncle, and their journey together again. She saw everything of Jill.

And that's when she realized, Jill had to survive. She had gone through a hard life and could barely keep up with it. She's had a lot of serious punishment, a lot of pain, but kept on going. She was a strong human. And her life could end at that moment. that's what Amy now was afraid of. That Jill wouldn't see the world any longer, meanwhile she had seen enough. Amy had similar grieves, but no one is going to be there for her if she lives. For all she knows, her family could be dead. And she would welcome the fact to see them again. Jill had to live. She still had them.

* * *

Jill fell on the side of a slope with snow on it. That didn't break her fall. She continued to roll down instead until the land became level again, and she could stand. Though, when she got up, the land wasn't level yet, it was a bit slanted. 

She looked around. No sign of Amy. She was afraid of running into her again. She started to walk back, but then tripped over snow. She rolled again, but stopped face down on the snow. She stayed there and didn't want to get up. She started to cry there.

Now in front of her, Amy stood with claws ready. Jill tried to get up again but was pushed by a force back. Only Amy didn't cause it. It was surprising to both of them for awhile, and then Jill started to get cuts. Deep cuts. And she screamed.

Amy smiled. She knew something Jill didn't. she knew that the real Amy was causing harm to her. The real Amy was beating Jill up.

There were more scratches appearing on Jill, and even all over her face. Blood again started to come out, slowly from the scratches. Then, they stopped, and so did Jill. she just was there on the cold ground, with the Sneasel smiling at what had just happened.

Amy walked over to Jill and stood over her. She saw Jill's expression of terror. Then she looked off into the distance. Instantly, the fogged clouds started to break away and a big body of water was ahead. Amy kept her evil smile.

"Sorry, you weren't fast enough," she said. Jill could hardly say anything. She was spitting out blood.

Amy grabbed onto Jill's legs and pulled her with her, bringing her near the water. Jill wanted to scream, but couldn't. she couldn't move because of the pain, and the snow was making it even worse on her. The ice scratched against her blood and sealed them off with ice. Then they stopped right before the water.

Amy jumped right into the cold water. Jill was still on the ice ground. Then, in an instant, a large claw reached out of the water and grabbed a hold of Jill as she now screamed, ignoring the pain. She was brought above the water. The claw gripped onto her, just holding her. Then it plunged into the coldness.

This was very strange. _Very_ strange. Right when she fell through the devided liquid, the part of her body that went into the water transformed into the parts of a Sneasel body. When the hand brought her entire body through the water, she was fully Sneasel. As she was brought deeper down, her clothes fell off. This would've been scary and made her scream louder, but the pain of water on her cuts grew. She suddenly stopped going down. Then, Amy was in front of her with the claw making Jill face her.

"What's wrong?" asked Amy. Jill couldn't answer. She realized she couldn't breathe either. She struggled for a moment, but the struggling gave her pain. Then, Amy swam right at her, and jumped into her new body. Amy was now in Jill. Then, Jill blacked out all images of water seeing only black, with only the whiteness of her claws visible. Then, even they vanished.

And she saw images of a past. Not her past, but of someone else's past. It was pure images rolling fast.

Flashbacks of wreckage. So much destruction. So much everywhere, and so many images of horrors. It went on forever, then calmed to a slower pace. Rain filled, two Sneasel's over Amy. She sees Amy in with a group of Sneasel in an ice cave. Another Sneasel is born before Amy's eyes, and she's smiling. A group of Rockets enter their domain and start capturing and attacking Pokémon. Her brother is killed. Grief overcomes her. She finds refuge with a man. She's taken overseas to Hoenn. She meets Jill. And then the rest of their journey together flashed.

Jill had just seen Amy's life through her own eyes. She saw what happened to her. All the grieves she had. All the horror Amy spent in her life. Most of Amy's life was spent on the run. She had lost many companions on her journey. Then she was brought into her family. And she loved them. That picture was ruined when Team Rocket destroyed her time in happiness. And now she's with her, hiding away the pain. The pain of her life and the casualties she saw. The torture.

Jill fell on hard ground. She wasn't a Sneasel anymore, she was human, even with her clothes back.

Amy had spent such a horrifying life. Jill kept telling herself that. she had kept it all to herself. She never told anybody. She didn't even give hints that she had that hard life. She didn't even tell Jill.

Horrifying. There was no other way to describe. And she deserved better.

_She doesn't deserve what's happening to her. She doesn't deserve being here in this damned ship. She doesn't deserve to be witnessing this. And it's all my fault that she's even here. It's my fault that she's on this ship. It's my fault that she feels even more pain. Being with me, fighting others to get my friendship with her stronger. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve anything I gave her. At least not the ones that hurt her. Not the ones like fighting at a GYM and helping me get badges. Not anything like that. She didn't need anymore horror added to her life. She had just enough already. She deserves to live a longer life. A better life. She can't do that if she's dead…_

Then she disappeared from the place.

* * *

Jill awoke on the floor opening her eyes to see Houndour staring down at her. He had a bit of worry on his face as she woke up. 

"Are you alright?" he asked. Jill opened her eyes wide and crawled backwards against the wall. _Did he just say something…?_

"Whoa, easy there," said Houndour. "Jill, there's something wrong with—,"

"—duh there's something wrong," she answered quickly. She looked at her hands and saw her own hands. She looked all around her to reassure her that she was human. She then turned back to Houndour. "I can understand what you're saying!"

"What?" asked Fang as he landed on the desk beside her. Jill screamed at the word and moved away a little frightened. Then she remembered the flashbacks. They were fresh in her memory. Then one word appeared in her thoughts: _KILL_.

She looked forward and saw the wall behind Houndour. There was a big case housing fancy plates. Above it, there was a shotgun.

Houndour turned back and saw what she was looking at. He turned to face her again with a shocked face. "No…" he said, trying to see if that was what she was looking at.

Jill got up and ran for the gun. Houndour bit her at the ankle to hold her back. He already saw what happened to Alex. He didn't want to repeat it.

"Let go!" yelled Jill, trying to break away from him. But he clamped on tight.

"Im no' ta ginna tet ya duh dat," he said through gritting teeth as he held on.

"_Jill!_" yelled a voice. It was Amy's voice. "_Please, this has to be really you. listen to me! Stop doing what you think you're doing! It's not right! Don't listen to your thoughts, just listen to me!_ "

But Jill didn't listen. She couldn't listen. She needed that gun. She fought forward until Houndour's grip got loose ripping a piece of her pants off. She ran for the gun, but tripped on Smeargle who was still lying on the floor.

"Ahhh!" she screamed as she fell to the floor of the big case. The shake caused the top of the case to rumble, and it fell forward making Jill scream more. It fell on top of her and broke away to the bottom floor taking Jill with it. And both Jill and the case were on the floor below now.

Houndour crept over to the side and saw the shotgun had handed right near the edge where he stood. He used his forepaw and pushed it away from the ledge, then looked down. There was Jill. she was still breathing, at least that was a good sign.

He turned around and faced Fang, then the still unconscious Smeargle. "You think you can help me get him on top of me?" asked Houndour.

Fang looked with a confused expression, then said, "Why?"

"Because we got to go down there."


	29. Wake

Finally updated! How many of you already forgot what the heck was happening? XD I did, I admit it, so I had to go a re-read the entire thing, finding very strange things I didn't remember putting. Also, I contradicted myself on two chapters. XP Well, here's the newest chapter.

**Chapter 29: Wake**

Zap looked around, worried. He heard it. He knew it heard it. But it wasn't there. The truck, he was pretty sure he heard them say there was a truck. But there was nothing.

He frantically searched through the side of the cave. His wounds hurt even more, but he had to find them. They were _his_, not theirs. His little ones. That's who they were. Those people…they had no right to take them!

"Where are you?!" Zap yelled into the air. That's when he faintly heard the truck again.

Not wanting to let it run from sight, Zap ran after the truck. Tires were rolling. He knew them very well; he had heard human transportation vehicles before no matter how uncommon they were.

He began to run in that direction. He wouldn't stop. He thought he heard the sound drift off, and soon he couldn't hear it anymore. But he didn't want to believe that. He wanted to believe that he could find them. He could find what belonged to him, and take back. So he kept running on all fours.

Then there was a white fur wall in front of him that he crashed into.

* * *

That was just one small memory that came back to Zap when he saw the Ninetales. He couldn't believe his eyes. 

"Quick, we have to move Ghost's body." That one sentence brought Zap back to his senses. And somehow, in the voice, he knew that it was indeed Nini that was under the fur.

A quick response is what she wanted; a quick response is what Zap did. He ran over to the body of Ghost. "Is he dead?"

"Yes."

Zap turned to face Nini, horrified.

"What?" Nini responded, "Of course he's dead; he's been dead ever since birth. He's a _Ghost_ Pokémon, Zap."

Zap felt relieved at her response. For a moment, he was beginning to think that Nini was getting very cold considering how hot she was.

"Z…Zap…" Charley called. "I…th…I don't think that…I'll stay conscious much longer…"

Zap went over to Charley. "You can make it," he said, "you told me yourself that you would be fine."

"But I…I…," Charley began to choke. He spit, and blood flowed from his nose as well as some from his mouth.

Nini pushed through. Zap stepped back, nearing Rachel.

Charley stared Nini in the eyes, not really able to do anything else. "Charley, I need you to listen to me," she was telling him. Charley was only hearing a muffled voice though.

"You're…a Ninetales…wow…" that was all he could say.

"Aw, didn't I tell you that story already?"

Charley took a breath. "I…don't remember."

In Charley's vision, everything got brighter all of a sudden. He looked straight at Nini, trying not to move.

"I…can't hear anything…" he said. Nini didn't respond. Charley turned to see Zap and Rachel. They were looking at him, but nothing was happening. He looked down the hall and saw an Aqua member beginning to make his turn into the room to try and get an aim on him with a rifle—only he wasn't moving. He was frozen in time. "Aw, I stopped time again, didn't I?"

He then coughed again. There was a small piece of the door that was ripped open by Ghost on the floor. Charley grabbed it and threw it at the Aqua member. There was a small flash right before it hit his head and he tripped onto the floor, cussing aloud enough for them to hear him.

"There's a—," Charley started.

"Zap, take care of that Aqua," Nini said, not giving him a chance to finish.

"But—," Zap protested.

"Just do it Zap!" Nini yelled towards him.

Zap then regained a memory. He remembered back when they were on the ship, when Charley was in danger. Zap had asked a 'but' then and only got a yell from Nini. He had asked a 'but' now, and got another yelling.

Zap looked at the crooks eye, who was now eyeing Zap, still holding his head where that chunk hit.

With just a sprint charge from Zap, that Aqua member was back on his feet and running from the spot. As he turned the corner, Zap shot a thunderbolt. The thunderbolt caused a blackout throughout the entire submarine.

* * *

He opened his eyes. He was shaky and groggy. He rose from the bed he was on held his head, than how he usually did, tapped his finger near his right eye. Well, he hit his right eye. And it felt like a crystal. 

"Huh?" Alex said aloud. He removed the covers and saw the rest of his body from the small bed he lay in. it was purple fur. A very dark fur. He touched it, but it went through his claws—claws! The fur felt like air, you could literally have it go through your own hand before you touched a bone.

Alex felt his foot. His tiny claws went through the fur, and he was pretty sure it went so deep, that he indeed did touch his bone.

He tapped the crystal that was placed right in the middle of his stomach area, or maybe just a little above the stomach. It felt like crystal, really hard crystal.

Add that with the fact that he was naked. That would make the usual average everyday Sableye.

Alex took a long moment of silence. Then, he silently talked to himself.

"It's…not…fair…" he paused. "I'm …not…supposed to…be a…P—P—Plagh!" he turned to his side and threw up. What came out was a variety of color matter that dissolved into nothing once it hit the ground.

"NO!" Alex screamed finally taking in the full impact that he was a Sableye.

* * *

"I can't see anything…" 

Those were the first words that Darry spoke as soon as he woke up. When he opened his eyes, there was only a blur in front of him. Nothing else.

He stood up and looked around the place while waiting for his eyes to adjust. He still could barely see anything. His vision was very blurry.

Finally, his vision came back to him. He looked around. He was in one of the arts classes in the ship. An arts class he didn't even know exist.

He stood up, brushing at his feet. He didn't know how he got there, but that wasn't the time for questioning.

He looked around the room. There were painting equipment thrown all around the place. Paintings of Pokémon, people, and just random things. Nothing caught much of his interests.

The room was small with no windows. There was just one door; a door out to the hallway. He could tell seeing it wide open and the rug carpet trailing to one side.

Slowly, he stepped out, almost expecting something to jump out of the corners and get him. He didn't know what to expect anymore. It was just like back when he had to…

He stopped. The memories were bad. He had to push them away. He couldn't think about it. It was the time that he was the one who could only save his friends, but it wasn't a heroic decision. This decision was done because he had no choice. Because of it, something happened to him. Something he didn't want to speak of.

Darry walked down the hall, trying his best to keep quiet in the darkness. There was a surge that made it seem as if the ship was about to turn over, but a very small one. He put that behind him. It was something else, he was sure of it.

While making his way through the hall, Darry was taking notice around the area. It seemed familiar to him, as the hall naturally would, but it was a different kind of familiar. This familiarity he felt from the hall was giving him a memory. A memory that had happened when he first was on the ship.

Again, he put that behind him. It couldn't be any more important than finding the others. That's what he decided he would do. Walking alone in a hall wasn't really a bright idea anyways, especially when he knew something that could kill him was near. He just wasn't sure where.

* * *

Derek took a seat by a red couch just placed a little below the floor in the center. It was a very nice design, circling around a large pole that he assumed ran from the ocean floor to the ceiling to keep the place afloat. 

He was now wearing a completely white shirt with khaki pants. Those were the only things that the center had to offer a dripping wet trainer that had entered with an unconscious Sableye. His items were held in a locker he had purchased with wet cash in the Pokémon Center.

He wasn't too sure what was happened or what was going to happen to Alex. He did know that Alex would feel slightly uncomfortable being in a medical center meant for Pokémon. Having people who were only skilled in taking care of animals that were taking care of you would be kind of awkward. In knowing that, Derek felt he had to do _something_ to help Alex with this situation.

There wasn't much he knew about Alex. He didn't know his family or friends. There was no one he could call to say that their friend or son had been transformed into a Pokémon and could sometimes not know how to control human and Sableye speak.

The last thing he could do for Alex is wait. He could just walk out any minute, let Alex explain himself to anyone about himself. Eventually have the news spread to those he knows. He could do that. But he felt he owed him. There was something inside of Derek that told him he should wait for Alex. And like battling, whatever his mind told him to do at a tough decision, he would do it. His mind said to wait.

Using one of the free towels from the not so free showers, Derek dried his hair. There were wet spots all over his shirt showing that right after he stepped out of the shower he slipped it on.

Then, one of the nurses came towards him.

"Are you the owner of the Sableye in room 12?" she asked.

The word "owner" sunk in. he began to wonder if they had used that word around Alex if they entered the room. Alex would take it the wrong way and think that he had said he belonged to him.

"I guess," Derek answered.

"Come this way," the nurse nodded.

Derek stood and rolled off the couch, getting up and brushing imaginary dust off his shirt. He gave a slight grin, then made a full scale serious expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he began to follow her.

"Oh, there's nothing really wrong here, it's just that there isn't a way that we could calm you Sableye down. We were hoping you could help, or we'll just have to use a sedative."

They began to enter a hall.

"Yeah, well that Sableye doesn't really _belong_ to me, I'm just being a good citizen and helping Pokémon," Derek replied. Then, he silently added, "as a matter of fact, I'm actually helping a human right now."

They went down another hall to where there were numbers placed on doors. There were many rooms and there seemed to be no real pattern of numbers as they past by. There were doors that had 1 and then the next would be 6 and then the one after would be 3.

They reached the end and the nurse opened the door to room 12. It was a small room that was able to hold six Pokémon in. there was only one in the room.

It was a pretty strange sight. There was no way to explain it, but it appeared as if Alex was _crying_. Another nurse was beside him and two Chansey were standing on the opposite side of the bed. The nurse was telling the Chansey to try and stop the crying by soothing the poor creature, but it was appearing as if Alex refused to speak to them.

"Its trainer is here," said the nurse that brought him.

The other nurse turned around and seemed relieved. Alex just gave a glance at him. It was an even stranger sight to see a teary eyed Sableye. The crystal eyes were green with black grime smudges around the bottom of them. They kind of resembled buggers…ew.

Derek shook his head disagreeing with the nurse. "Actually, I'm kind of like an…well, let's say…I saved its life, didn't I just say that to you while we were walking over here?"

Derek cringed. He just called Alex an "it."

That's when Alex seemed to go a little crazy. He pointed a finger at him and started speaking fast in Sableye language. One Chansey again tried to calm him, but he wouldn't calm.

"C—can I have a moment alone with him?" Derek asked.

The nurse nodded, then motioned for the other nurse and both Chansey to leave. As soon as they did, she began to follow. Right before exiting, she turned around. She seemed about to say something, but then just closed her mouth and left the room.

Derek quickly made his way to Alex's side. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to call you like a Pokémon, it just came out."

"It seemed as if I could trust you with knowing since the boat accident," Alex said angrily, voice rising.

"Hey!" Derek started, rising from kneeling near the bed. "You spoke in English!"

"Bleye?"

"Whoops, just switched again." Derek came back to kneeling again. Alex fell to a slumped sitting position that showed hopelessness. "Hey, it's alright," Derek soothed. "Whatever happened before, when you were human and then became—you know—well, it's in the past. Nothing can haunt you now."

_Haunt_. That word stayed with Alex. Whatever that curse was that made him that way, it was more of haunting him than anything else. He was sure of it. The haunting had to stop soon though, so…there indeed was a chance that he could become human again!

Alex held onto this little hope he had and pushed it to the back of his mind. He would pull it out any other time, but at the moment, he had to deal with his situation.

"So, I was thinking," Derek began. Alex listened, but didn't show any emotions just yet. "Maybe you can give me some names down. You know, your family, so I can call them and let them know that you at least aren't dead…I think. Do Ghost Pokémon count as being dead?"

Alex didn't answer.

"Well, it's a good idea, because I know my family would be worried about me if I disappeared and never showed up. Or ended up showing up with them not knowing it was me because I was something other than myself."

Silence.

"Hey, I'm pulling for you, alright? I'll give you as much as you need—,"

"Bleye?" he had asked, 'why?'

"Huh? Well…hmm…anyways, I can give you as much as you need just to get you to meet your family, okay? Letting family know you're not you is better than them thinking you're not even alive anymore."

There was a slight nod in Alex.

"Good. Now, plan to tell me what your family's last name is, or where they live?"

Just as soon as Alex was about to answer, he paused himself. He looked away real quick, looking around the room as if expecting something to jump out of nowhere.

"Hey, I said you're okay, alright?" Derek said it as if he was speaking to a nine year old.

Alex turned to face Derek. He was again with that teary expression he had seen earlier. The one with the blotches, the one that looked either very ugly or very scary. It was the uncontrollable expression that Alex had. And now, he was showing it to Derek.

"Say say bleye…," he answered. '_I don't know._'

* * *

Rubble was all around the location of darkness. It seemed to be impossible to pull anything out of the garbage, the broken garbage that seemed to have no air underneath. But Houndour put it upon himself to dig Jill and Amy out if it was the last thing he ever did. 

Fang stood right beside him, not being able to do much. He just saw Houndour digging and moving away rocks. It wasn't really helping the moment, but there wasn't really anything special the Zubat could do.

On the other side of the pile, a dark shadow was coming closer. It was digging inside the pile with ease. The entire shadow entered, and soon, there was no trace left to be found of it.

But Houndour was working way too hard on the other side that he didn't even notice. Smeargle was sprawled upon the other end of the room almost as if he had lay down there on his own will even though he was still unconscious, Zubat watched carefully, and Houndour did the work. Hope was the only thing they had.

* * *

The lights were out. Darkness spread throughout the entire submarine. The question of what was going on was asked several times by many of the crewmembers, even Charley. Zap could barely see what had happened. 

"Zap! What did you do!?" Nini screamed in his direction. The fire in her eyes ignited the room.

"I did what you said, alright!?" Zap screamed back. Nini seemed to have gotten something back when she had transformed back into a Ninetales. Zap didn't like it at all.

"You weren't supposed to do that! Did you forget we're being chased by darkness itself? Didn't you think if it resided in darkness? Use that thing you call a brain!"

"Stop yelling at him!" Rachel backed Zap up.

"Will you all just shut up?!"

The room began to glow again with light, but none of the lights had turned on. Charley's eyes were much brighter than usual, giving off a white wave of hatred that none of the others had seen nor would think of seeing in him before.

"We're being hunted like animals; some of us even _being_ animals! And all you can do is keep a fight?" the room grew even brighter. There was a surge that shook the submarine a bit. "I'm not going to stand for this! Not me; I've been through this! I've been hunted and I've lived through it! None of you but Nini has that experience, and I'm surprised Nini isn't trying to keep us calm!" Nini opened her mouth as if to speak. "Shut up! I don't care what _can_ happen because I know what _will_ happen if we don't stop fighting! So keep your fighting at an off level _please_!"

The wound Charley had before; it was gone. No sign of it. But that's not what kept everyone quiet.

"Charley, don't stop concentrating," Nini said, having some sort of sweat come down her. Zap felt it too. So did Rachel. And so did the rest of the crew that were not in that hall.

"What?" Charley asked. The lights grew to darkness, and everyone closed their eyes as they felt the rush in their stomachs and tried to hold on tight.

* * *

What a spectacular sight to those that were on board. The submarine was _flying _into the air, up, up, and up. What a sight. The aqua members couldn't help but gape and just…freeze. So did the hidden rocket members that were there. No one could believe what they were seeing. 

Then, so high in the air, the submarine came at fast speeds back down and into the water. A large wave was tossed in one direction and another to the nearby ship, wetting everyone on the surface of the ship and almost throwing them overboard as they held onto something that they could. Some actually did fall over board.

* * *

Darry was frozen, looking at the window. In a fast motion, the submarine hit the ocean floor with a blast and tossed water everywhere. He jumped back as water smashed against the window and poured inside. He closed his eyes. Water was flooding, but he kept a held on grip. 

Finally, it stopped, and Darry was left to stand up dripping wet.

* * *

Houndour kept digging. He didn't want to stop. This was going on for a long time now. Fang got tired of viewing and soon began to offer for help. Houndour refused not letting nor wanting to know what Fang could offer. 

Fang sighed and flew up to the floor they were in before. He stayed up there and looked down at him work. He couldn't believe he was letting him do all the work. But that was that, and all he could do is let the dark type do as he pleased.

When Fang turned around, he noticed the shotgun missing.

"Um, Houndour?"

"What?" Houndour grunted, stopping from his work.

"That thing that the girl, whatever her name was wanted, well uh, it's not here."

"What?" Houndour asked. That's when the sound happened. The sound that he never wanted to hear after what happened to Ghost and Alex. It was the shotgun blowing off. A large piece of the pile he was digging at flew into the air from the shot, showing that from under the rubble, the gun had been fired.

Then, the ship turned a bit from the wave they had no idea was happening outside.


	30. Talk and Remember

LOL! Just read this line from the last chapter and found how wrong it sounded! XD

"Zap felt relieved at her response. For a moment, he was beginning to think that Nini was getting very cold considering how hot she was."

That was NOT what I meant about being hot...you know, Nini's a Ninetales, she has a flame within her...not hot as in "whistle-hot-she-is-a-girl-and-I-am-a-dude" hot. XD Okay, next chapter anyways. This one is actually one of the shorter chapters I've made, but I really liked writing this one.

**Chapter 30: Talk and Remember**

debris was flying, just small particles of dirt. Jill, just getting her memory back, looked around her location. It was a very tight spot around her. There was not really much room to move around in. _And_ it was very dark.

She tried to stand, but then felt pain on her knees. She looked down at her self. There was a large section of the floorboard of the ship that had gotten her tightly wedged to the floor.

There wasn't much space either. She could literally touch the ceiling, or what seemed like one. It was made of wood. She rubbed her hand against it and felt it, trying to picture it in the light. The only other thing that she last remembered that could feel like that wood would be the large case holding the plates. The one that held the shotgun above.

She began to focus on her surroundings. The first thing she paid attention to was her hand. It was full of blood, all around. She looked at herself again, this time being able to see some blood on herself. She felt herself, and felt wet. It was either water or blood.

As soon as she had spotted the blood, she felt a rush of pain come up her. Still, she tried her best to put it in the back of her mind, and concentrate on what she was going to do now. She couldn't do anything.

She reached the wood and tried to push it off again, but it was held in place. There was no way to move it.

"_Jill..._"

she heard that. It wasn't from the room. She knew where it had come from. It was her Sneasel. She was speaking to her in her mind.

* * *

As soon as the submarine landed, a shock wave was sent throughout the entire sub. No one could land on their feet. It was too hard to do so when everything was shaking back and forth, dropping many of the science equipment on the floor. 

Charley landed face first on the ground as the light came on and off. He could barely see Nini, Zap, Rachel, and the currently out cold Ghost as they similarly landed the way he had. Though at that harsh landing, the _out cold_ Sableye immediately awoke, wondering what the heck just happened.

Every once in awhile, he would see everybody. The lights kept their constant flicker though, so it was hard to keep a good view on everything.

For some strange reason, the sub felt like it was turning. Suddenly, objects that were on the north side of the sub, were beginning to slide to the south side.

"What's going on," Charley whispered silently. He couldn't say much; his breath was taken when the sub landed from it's high fly.

A large metal tray almost hit Zap. He dodged. There was a section of an air vent that had fell from the ceiling upon landing on the water and was now sliding past. Ghost barely was able to jump it, trying to think through what had just happened while he was out.

None of them could keep their balance. Nini, trying to dig her paws into hard concrete, couldn't grab onto anything and was sliding back. She crashed into Zap and they were sliding until they hit on the back. Ghost was sliding too, but managed to jump to where he landed on his feet on what was now becoming a floor and was once a wall. Charley grabbed a hold of a pipeline and held onto Rachel by the gruff, then pulling her closer to his chest to where he was cradling her.

Objects were falling past Rachel and Charley. Nini and Zap moved to the wall, trying to stay away from the metals that were landing. Ghost wasn't really doing much. He didn't have to. He was concentrating instead. Through concentration, a light aura surrounded him, barely visible. Object were just flying right through him as he appeared to be floating above ground.

There were loud noises as each metallic clang was made. It was too loud for the ears of Zap and Rachel. Nini just zoned the noises out as she tried to keep herself and Zap away from the falling metals.

But what was still confusing, was Ghost. He was rising up and up. Charley had no clue of what was happening as he had passed him, still floating. The crystals in Ghost's eyes seemed to be...glowing a strange color...

floating upwards and upwards. Unknown to Charley, Rachel, Zap or Nini, Ghost was visually seeing something he couldn't explain. And this visual was taking over his body, taking over himself. He was being lifted not by something that he was doing, but by something that someone or something else was doing to him.

And in a fast motion, he flew straight up and through the metals of the sub.

Up and up he went. He looked down and was still going down, finally being able to take a little bit of his mind back together.

What he saw was the sub. And it was sinking, drowning from the back end and bringing it down. It was now straight, going down and leaving everyone within it to die at the bottom of the ocean. The last of the sub went below the waters. There were no lights under the water that he could see to indicate that there was power.

With no power, there was no air circulating. They would all die inside the sub from lack of oxygen.

Ghost didn't know this though. He was just looking straight down. So he didn't notice the dark clouds above him. The ones that opened a large mouth, an evil one. And then swallowed him whole without letting him think.

--

"_Jill...can you hear me?_"

Jill stayed quiet. She was forgetting about everything. She was doing it all on her own. She didn't want any memories.

"_Jill...please say something.._."

But still, Amy received no response from Jill. She was in a state of shock. Amy tried her best to control anything of Jill, to at least help her be able to pull herself out, but it was impossible. She couldn't move anything at all.

"I'm here...though I don't want to..." she said.

"_Jill, I know how you feel right now. I know that it doesn't hurt,_" Amy started. "_I need you to help me by pushing this wood pile away._"

"You're not even here with me...how can I help you?"

"_Because _you_ are the one in control now. I need you to try. Can you do this?_"

Jill moved just a bit, trying to sit upright. It wasn't working so well. She tried again, and felt a cramp come up and began to close her eyes and break a tear at the tiny amount of pain coursing through her body.

Amy felt it too. She couldn't do anything about it, all she could do was do what Jill was doing. So even though those movements she felt Jill making weren't hers, the pain all relied on Jill. And she was grateful that Jill was trying with all her might to push the pain away; she wouldn't have been able to do that.

As soon as the cramp disappeared, Amy spoke again. "_Jill, are you alright?_"

"I...I think so...yeah, I'm okay." she didn't try to stand again.

"_Let's not try to do that again, okay?_"

"...alright..."

so they were both there, not doing anything. They didn't know what they could do. After three minutes though, Jill decided it was just about the right time to come up with a conversation with Amy. Something she would never have been able to do before if the event that was going on hadn't gone on.

"So...Amy?"

"_Yes Jill?_"

"How's it like being my Pokémon?"

there was a short silence. After the first five seconds of nothing, Jill immediately regretted asking the question. She was about to take it back, when Amy answered.

"_You treat me like no other person would, Jill. I'm proud to be your Pokémon. That's why I couldn't stand to see you try to reach for that weapon. I didn't want you to...be lost. Jill, I'm...a very loyal Pokémon, if you put what reputation my kind has behind me._"

Jill closed her eyes and grabbed at thought, trying to think of something. Amy knew she was doing so because of the unwanted closure of the eyelids that she experienced.

"I...know what happened to you. I'm sorry, Amy."

Amy felt like looking away, but she couldn't. She didn't have control over anything. She didn't even administer the fact that she was called by her real name, Amy.

"_Yes, but that's all behind me, Jill. My family is gone, and I can live with it._"

"I know," Jill replied. "but I also know that something else happened...before your family. The family of Sneasel you lived with at the cave...they weren't your real family, were they?"

Amy seemed to stop thinking. She tried her best to concentrate on Jill, but couldn't because she didn't have any control.

"_I don't know what your talking about, Jill._"

"Amy," Jill continued, "before me...before your family...there was someone else, wasn't there?"

Silence again.

"There was a trainer..._wasn't there?_" Jill asked.

Amy was trying to remember again. She remembered her family and tried to get way back at her memories, but found nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Amy replied.

"_Amy...I saw in your past...through the nightmares...I know what happened, and that's why I thought that maybe if you were just given extra time then...then you could go back..._"

Amy stayed quiet. Then, she answered.

"I know what you're talking about. And I know what happened...but it's not me...I need you to know that that memory...I got it when we were traveling. I don't know where it came from, and I never really thought about it much...but I need you to know that whatever you saw was probably not true. However, I saw your past too. There were some painful memories...that I don't want to speak of if you don't. Jill...I've been thinking that maybe if you could see past what happened to _you,_ then you could get better help to help you with your loss...I know that there are doctors for these out in the human world. I know you know too. And I know you haven't seen any of them, and based on what I saw in your past...I can't let you suffer. I made that oath to you when we won our first badge. Do you remember?"

and Jill did remember. She scanned her memory to the day that her sister had died...she didn't want to remember, but she knew that it was there. The memory was powerful. But Jill did not cry. She didn't want to, like how she knew Amy was about her family. She could feel the tears that were not hers...wait a minute...they weren't her tears.

"_Huh?_" Jill questioned. Thats when Amy got up, easily from the floor. She just realized that through their speaking, Amy had gotten control of her turn. Jill was now in Amy's mind, the Sneasel. She was seeing things through a Sneasel's perspective.

There wasn't a lot of space to walk around, but it was about a six feet difference of movement available. Amy clawed at a wall. Jill felt that. Jill felt the wet tears slide down cheeks that weren't hers. She tried to fight them, but in the current situation, it was only Amy who could fight them.

Amy slouched onto the side of a large pile. There was darkness all around and everything was tossed around as if a hurricane hit directly and they were under an unstable pile.

"But you're right, Jill." Amy stated.

"_R—right about what_?" Jill asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Maybe you were right about everything." her eyes were on the ancient weapon; the shotgun lying on the floor.

"_Amy! I didn't say anything even close to what you're thinking!_" Amy bent down and picked up the weapon. She had it in her claws, hardly able to hold the long weapon. "_Please Amy! Don't think about doing what you're going to do! You still have a chance!_" tears were rolling down Amy's eyes as she raised the gun, and made it aim towards he chin. Right under it. "_AMY! STOP!_"

"This is a curse, right?" Amy said through Pokémon tears.

"_Yes! And this is a trick! Please, IGNORE IT!_" the tears that were on Amy would really be the ones on Jill, because she was getting really desperate.

"If I'm gone, then I won't be gone. If I'm gone, and let this take me, I have a general idea of where I will go. If I disappear from there, will I see my family again? I'm sorry Jill, but I have to find out!"

"_AMY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_"

and that was when the terrible gunshot was heard.

And then everything seemed to go backwards.

An explosion occurred in Jill's mind. She was blown back by the wave of the explosion, and kept falling away from reality. She couldn't make out what was around, she was getting very dizzy.

There were flashes of images again. They were images that she didn't remember. She didn't expect to; those images were of Amy.

Back and back she went, to Amy's first time being in a Pokéball to gathering around at family huntings. To searching at where the fruit was best in what trees to where she and her family were having fun times together. Back to a part she didn't recognize. And then everything stopped, and she was still a Sneasel, except she had he arms around someone. This someone was a human.

Jill felt different types of emotions flow through her and she didn't know why. These emotions were the ones that Amy had felt back when the situation was happening to her.

It was a long hug. Jill felt a tear going down Amy's face, or apparently _her_ face temporarily. She had no clue what to call it. Then the human stopped with the hug, and held Amy at a distance, as if checking her out.

The human put Amy on the floor. Jill wished she could look around and see where she was.

"I'm sorry I have to do this...but if it's the only way...then okay..." there were tears rolling down the human that had said that, copying the ones Amy was setting. And the human had a weapon with him. A shotgun. And it was the same design shotgun as the curse shotgun, Pokéball design and all. "I'm sorry..." Jill saw the human's mouth moving, but no words were formed. She couldn't make out what he was saying next. But then that deadly fire was shot, and the slowest amount of time followed afterwards, coming straight towards Amy.

Jill wanted to tell Amy to move, but she couldn't. This was all history, and she couldn't change what happened. But she asked herself, why was it happening?

Then reality came back. The shotgun was not pointed at Amy's chin anymore, instead, it was pointed upwards, to where it made a hole above.

* * *

the loud bang rang through Houndour's ears, and he turned back, wanting to quickly help Jill. 

"No...NO! Please don't tell me what I think happened just happened!" he dug furiously with his paws. He shot flames to make small debris whither away and make it easier for him to help Jill get out.

Houndour kept digging. All he could do now was hope that everything was alright.

* * *

Jill couldn't believe what had just happened. Neither could Amy. For a brief second, Jill was able to control Amy, while still having Amy be a Sneasel. She had moved the shotgun just seconds before it was shot, so it would aim up. The shell just missed Amy. 

"_Amy..._" Jill said, glad that Amy was crying. Now she could think the words like she meant it. "_please don't do that again..._"

There was no answer, but after a long silence, Amy got the message. She nodded, still tears rolling down her eyes. She tossed the weapon away and wiped at her own tears.

Jill wanted to ask who the mystery person she had seen in a flashback that wasn't her own was, but she knew, that that moment right there, was no the right moment. It would be wrong to ask at that time. So she would wait until the right time to ask.

"_It's okay Amy...you're going to be okay_," Jill said soothingly like a mother.

There was silence. Then after a few seconds, Amy began to speak again. "I don't want to remember..."

"_Remember what?_" Jill asked.

Pause again. Then, "Everything before I was born..."


	31. Ghost

Even though I said in December (the story, not the month XP) I would work on my stories on Saturday instead, I just thought I'd write this short chapter up tonight, so here it is. Enjoy, this is getting darker.

**Chapter 31: Ghost**

Darry didn't want to do what he was about to do, but he forced his body to move forward and look at the disaster left of the wide opening on the side of the ship. He was telling himself mentally to move away and get above deck. At least find a safe spot to clear his mind. But no. Instead, he walked and looked over the broken ridge.

There went the sub. Drowning in water. A few more seconds and it was underwater, most likely never to be seen again.

He closed his eyes. Something happened in there, he knew that much. That wasn't all that concerned him though. Knowing about structures, Darry knew that the ship wasn't going to hold for very long. Eventually, it would sink. There were a bunch of innocent lives aboard. If nothing happened, then they were all doomed.

* * *

"Huh?" Derek asked. He looked around the room, trying to find some sort of sheet of paper and a pen to lend Alex, but found none. "Um...I guess we can do this the charade way."

"Say say bleye!" Alex answered. 'I don't know!'

Derek tried his best to understand the gesture, but failed. He didn't know a word Alex was saying.

Alex made a fist. There was a sudden pull on Derek. He was forced forward, nearer to Alex by an unseen strength.

"Say sableye sableye!" he exclaimed. 'I remember nothing!'

With the still clenched fist, Alex pushed forward. Derek was pushed away by the force, but not enough to knock him on the ground. Just to push him away.

Derek just stared at Alex for awhile. He couldn't understand what he was trying to tell him. So he took it as, "Go away, I don't need your help."

"I'm just trying to be helpful Alex. Do you want my help?"

Silence. a long pause to mix up the moment in anyway possible. Then, Alex nodded while still speaking in Sableye, and answering "Yes."

There was another short pause. Then, Derek replied with, "Okay. I'll help."

It was hard to tell for Derek whether the glitter of light in Alex's eyes were signs of hope or signs of tears.

* * *

There they went. The coastal guard headed out to sea to help the sunken fishing boat and it's survivors that were still adrift at sea. Sure, some made it to Pacifidlog, but the seas were still fierce. They pulled men away from each other and left them to still be left swimming aimlessly. It would be either the coastal guard or some traveling trainer to save those still at sea.

Rice had done all he could. Just inform the coastal guard about what had happened and that's all. He couldn't do much else.

He stared out at the sea that was still filled with drifting men far off, too far off that none could be seen from his location. But he knew that they were there.

With a sigh, he leaned against the railing dividing the ocean from the floating town. It was very fascinating for Rice since he found out there was even a town called Pacifidlog that it was actually drifting over ocean with no land. That it was only being held by many Corsola.

He didn't know how long he was going to stay out there. He didn't know how long it would take to just stare at the ocean. It wasn't until he looked down that something else looked up at him.

Their eyes met each other. It was a very rare sight for Rice. He couldn't believe what he was looking at. He turned around as if to find a trainer that maybe could have summoned the rare beast. But even though there were a few trainers around the area, none were looking at the spot down below that Rice was looking at.

"Hello there," Rice said to the Lapras.

* * *

The papers were handed over. There were so many questions on the sheet and information that had been needed. But it was finally done, and Derek handed the sheet over to the nurse.

"Hey, didn't you say that that Sableye wasn't yours?" asked the assistant.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked. _Oh, now she remembers what I said,_ he thought. Alex climbed onto Derek's shoulder like maybe a Pikachu would. It wasn't very often that a Sableye would do the same, but the assistant took no notice.

"I'm just asking. I thought I heard you say something else before." She handed Derek one more form, this time just for signature and assurance that he was helped at that center.

Derek signed the sheet and left, leaving the paper there.

As soon as the boys were outside Derek turned to Alex, which he found a little too close for comfort. Alex jumped onto the rail and almost fell over into the water, just trying to keep balance.

"First, I need to make a report about the accident. I lost almost everything there." Alex looked at him still, not moving. Derek took this as a why. "Come on, maybe you don't know how it feels, but I lost all my gear, including some of my closest friends on that boat." Alex cringed for a split second. He thought about Ghost...then he thought about the rest... "I need to tell someone to go find the ship. I'm probably gonna stay here until I get my friends back"

_Why not just say what they are?_ thought Alex. Maybe it was just so that Derek wouldn't say anything that could possibly anger him. Maybe the word would make Alex go nuts. Either way, Derek planned not to mention the word.

Silently to himself, Alex said in Sableye tongue, "I thought you were going to help me first."

It may have sounded a bit selfish, but it was Derek's promise. Why should he break it?

Derek walked over the hardwood floor of the outside, where Pacifidlog floated. Alex wondered why he didn't just use one of the phones at the center, but as he followed, he realized there was an organization on the island to help on dangerous sea situations. Derek entered while Alex stayed outside.

He looked at the door, feeling something he had never felt before.

The door towered over him. It was scary somehow.

Then as he thought about it, something in his mind clicked. When it did, it kicked, punched, and screamed within him. Literally.

It was nothing a headache could win over. It was more than a headache. It was pain beyond belief, keeping it's constant hitting on Alex.

Images were being flashed through his mind and attacking in all directions. Slowly, the images were becoming even clearer. And the images stopped on one last one. Staring straight at the face of an Umbreon.

Alex couldn't hold anything in. he felt like throwing up. Which he did.

Then he fell backward, and through the rails he went and down into the ocean. Splash.

* * *

Darry continued walking. And at a fast motion it was. He made it to a central area of the ship. There were stairs leading up above deck where he could hear many of the passengers. At the moment, it seemed like a good idea to go out there.

As soon as he made his first step up the stairs, they collapsed. With a sharp cry, Darry fell to the floor below. And because the floor on that one was weaker than usual because of all that was happening, he broke through that one, and onto an even rockier surface.

"Ow..." Darry tried to speak. Instead of standing up, he turned on his back and coughed. That's when he looked around him.

It was very strange. On one side of the hall was darkness. It was more like a cave opening than anything else, with rocks to complete it. On the other was just like the rest of the ship.

Darry listened. He listened very closely. In the distant, he could here faint voices...and then even some type of machinery.

He was putting it together now. He didn't want to believe it, but there was nothing he could do against the idea. It was happening.

The ship was being transformed. It was being transformed into the new home of the Curse.

* * *

Kicking the door open, Venn broke into the last room she would ever wish to be with. Except she didn't know it yet.

Behind her, only one teammate entered.

There were small TVs lined along the wall at one side. Looking into them, it was easy to tell that they were the cameras placed all around the ship. Some were blacked out while several were still showing.

"What are we doing here?" asked the Team Rocket member.

"We're gonna need some of these videos," Venn answered.

"What for?"

"We're gonna need them because chances are they show who has been cursed and who hasn't."

Several buttons were on the panel structure. Venn looked over them carefully, then found ejections continually on a row. She pushed the first ejection.

In the same row of the TVs, just right under them all and right above the panel structure, it was clear that there were discs players. Except these were recording.

The very first one, the one that started the row, ejected a nice shiny disc.

Again, there was a pause from Venn. After awhile, she pulled the disc and looked around the room. Near the door was a backpack.

Quickly, she made her way to it and dumped all of its contents on the floor.

"We don't have time to search for disc cases," Venn answered as she tossed the CD into the bag and made her way back to the panel. "I'm gonna have to just dump all of them in here."

quickly, she began to press eject on all of them. Discs were being ejected as she pulled them and placed them in a clutter in the bag while the other Rocket member walked over to watch.

After a moment, he stared at the screens. That's when he noticed something. He squinted at the figure in the camera.

"Hey Venn," the Rocket grunt called.

"What?" she asked, still pressing and taking.

"Check it out."

Venn looked at the screen that the Rocket member was looking at. "Huh?" she said aloud as she looked at the figure. What was creepy about it was that the creature was looking straight into the camera, right at them. It was a Sableye. It didn't move, it just stared.

Then after a long silence, something unbelievable happened. The hand reached _through _the screen.

At that moment, Venn fell to the floor, to shocked at what was happening. The other Rocket member freaked a bit and backed to the wall.

The Sableye pulled it's way through the monitor and crawled on the panel. From there, it jumped to the floor. And from there, it had a small staring contest with Venn.

Venn couldn't move. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Then the Sableye's eyes began to glow.


	32. Help from the Betrayer

Yeah...I sort of decided that since I had already written a chapter for this, and I left it with wanting to add so much more, why not make the next chapter? Yeah, so here it is. Now, for real, no writting fanfiction until Saturday. XD

**Chapter 32: Help from the Betrayer**

Ghost opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was...holy crap, the last thing he remembered was flying!

He stood up from the new ground he found himself upon. Looking around, he saw the large expanse of the area. It was huge. Far and wide it went, with an added fog just right at his knees.

Ghost looked around frantically, not knowing where he was. Then he saw something off in the distance.

He looked and tried his best to keep focused on the thing, but as soon as he had spotted it, it seemed to run away. There was nothing he could do about it. But that didn't mean he could give up on seeing it again.

Quickly, Ghost ran towards where he saw it. He wasn't sure what it was. Running as fast as he could, he thought he could actually catch up to the creature. Then a tail striked at him from seemingly nowhere, dropping him to the ground.

Ghost turned around. The fall didn't hurt.

The figure stood from it's hiding place in the fog. It wasn't a towering beast. In fact, some would think of it cute.

"A Pikachu?" Ghost wondered aloud.

The Pikachu jumped right on top of Ghost, knocking some breath out of him.

"My time is almost up," Pikachu answered.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ghost.

A thundershock from Pikachu to Ghost. When ghost was on the ground, Pikachu jumped over on top of him, tightening a grip on his throat while still keeping the electricity strong. It was surprisingly strong. It hurt Ghost. And the shock wasn't stopping. Pikachu kept the shock on Ghost, not giving him a chance to move. Just giving him pain. And after a long moment, Pikachu's eyes began to glow. They shined a dark yellow and aimed straight at Ghost. The wave of pain was strong. It was so strong that the previous cursed with Ghost could feel it strongly too.

The Pikachu felt a force somewhere in the room. Looking around, Pikachu got one thing in mind. Hurry. Not much time left...

Ghost was almost left for death. Just perfect.

With one final motion, Pikachu was able to summon a portal right below the two. "I will get the Charley one way or another..." the Pikachu threatened, still choking Ghost. "And when I do..." an even tighter grip; "I'm going to finish what he started."

Ghost struggled harder. He couldn't breath. Each struggle for breath would make him lose more chance of a breath, and with each movement would cause another high voltage shock from Pikachu.

"Stay still..." Pikachu advised. Dark liquid slid from all sides of the area, coming towards Ghost and Pikachu. "This won't be long..."

One last breath, and Ghost's heart stopped beating. He stiffened while the dark liquid surrounded both of them and rose to create a circular wall, just with Ghost and Pikachu in the middle.

Pikachu seemed to be struggling, while still with the choking and thundering. Something was fighting him.

"NO! I will finish this! Charley must die!"

but even as Pikachu said this, he could feel himself drifting away, and not the way he had planned. Something was fighting. No, not just one something...several. How?

"I'm gonna finish this!" Pikachu screamed, and at that instant, the yellow glow in his eyes shot straight for Ghost.

And then Pikachu was falling through the floor.

Pikachu transformed into pure yellow energy as he fell through. The yellow energy was surrounded with the dark liquid which became a similar energy flowing down. And then a mix of them both were shot up and rushed like thunder back to the room with Ghost.

"This is enough!" yelled a voice from far off. Just seconds before the yellow and dark energy struck Ghost, a figure rushed straight to the middle.

"Ghost!" she yelled.

The energy struck Ghost, and immediately, he flashed to life, with the first sight that of Umbreon.

* * *

The dark clouds did not disappear from above the ship. And when they opened again, there were only a few to spot what was falling down at full speed. 

Not many could see the speck, and those that did tried to point it out, but in the instant that many could even look, it crashed right through the floor of the top deck, scaring many.

No splinters were thrown around. There was nothing to indicate that anything had even happened. That's because the figure had flown through the deck and onto the floor below. It was on that ground the the creature stopped, inches from the ground, and landed softly.

It was a Sableye. And with the crazy look on its face, it didn't seem that different than any other average Sableye.

"I never got the chance to be a Sableye before..." the Sableye answered. With a motion of a finger, black liquid pushed into the air and surrounded him, slowly making its way all around the Sableye. The Sableye was the liquids master, trainer in terms of that world. And they were ready to rule.

A path was made in front of the Sableye. As it was, the ground seemed to turn to rock, to match that of the whereabouts of the Curse.

The Sableye walked forward while the black liquid followed behind the camera in the room was destroyed as the Sableye began to walk to the next room. In this room, the Sableye took notice of the camera. He smiled.

Focusing for a long period, the Sableye could see through the lens. He could see two figures in black and white, one male, one female, just staring back with a strange expression.

The Sableye frowned. "No one should know..." he concerned. Concentrating, the Sableye was able to pull through the close-up vision of the camera, and was able to get through as if it was a portal of his.

He stepped on top of panels and looked straight at the two now full color versions of what he had seen only in his mind, as they freaked out.

The female fell to the floor as the male stepped back to the wall.

The Sableye jumped right in front of the female. He smiled. Then, in the jewels that were his eyes, they began to glow. This time, a dark purple color.

And then the black liquid followed after him and into the room.

"It's a cursed one!" the male yelled.

The Sableye turned to see the male, who now threw the contents on a light metal shelf over as he pulled it away from the wall. It took only a second to register what the male was doing, but by then it was too late.

The hard metal slammed into the Sableye.

The male helped the female up. "We got to get out of here!" he shouted.

As the female began to stand with the help of the other rocket grunt, she pulled the pistol from her hoister and shot at what she believed could be a perfect aim for the Sableye.

The gun shot missed, but she wasn't about to try and hit the Sableye again.

Just as the two were escaping out onto the hall, the dark liquid pushed the female to the ground. She was feeling pain from it. It didn't help when the dark liquid dragged her back into the room as she kicked and screamed.

The rocket grunt ran to the door, but it was then closed shut. There was no telling what was about to happen on the other side of that door.

* * *

The Lapras looked straight into the eyes of Rice. Rice returned the gaze. They were caught in the sight so deep that none would speak, just stare. 

The Lapras returned under the water and swam under the boards.

Rice backed up and listened. He could hear the water turning in which direction she was going. This was a rare sight for Rice, and it was apparent since there was no trainer near calling to the Lapras enough to say that she was a wild one.

This could be Rice's big break. Maybe if he caught the beast, he could gain the recognition he had never before been able to gain. All he had to do was capture the beast.

So he followed the wave sounds. The Lapras seemed to be swimming from only the walkways. This was good, considering he didn't want to get stuck on a wall chasing the thing.

He reached the other side of the walkways and saw the Lapras go out the other way. She was above water now and looking around. She seemed to be looking for something; that was obvious.

Was she looking for her kind? Did she give birth and was now looking for the youngling?

She turned and began to go to the right. There was still a walkway going right, which led to a small building. Rice followed along.

As he followed, he crashed into a young boy about thirteen at the front of that building. "Wow, sorry about that," Rice said quickly as he tried not to lose sight of the Lapras.

"It's okay," the boy replied. Then, he added as Rice was continuing along, "Hey, have you seen a Sableye anywhere around here?"

Rice ignored the comment and continued walking, trying to keep up to the Lapras who again turned right and circled to the other side of the building. About five yards in front was another walkway to turn right. He ran just so he could keep up.

He kept a close eye on the Lapras, afraid he might lose it. There was no question about it. The Lapras was most likely wild. No trainer had called to her yet.

How was he to catch the Lapras? He wasn't a trainer, so he couldn't take the easy route. He had to do something to get the Lapras, without using a Pokéball.

What ever he did, he had to do it fast. He had a feeling that the Lapras would soon leave Pacifidlog. Therefore having Rice lose his big chance.

* * *

The pain was still there. Ghost didn't want to move. He had a feeling inside of him that he was literally fried. But the voice of Umbreon was bringing him back. 

"Ghost...I know you can get up. You have the energy to do so."

Ghost mumbled, then said in a hoarse whisper, "the last time I saw you...you were with Zap...Houndour..." he coughed.

There was a short pause. "Ghost...you should know something." Umbreon said.

Ghost tried his best to smile, but couldn't give one. There was too much pain.

"We're both...not coming back. Ever."

Ghost coughed again. "Coming back where?" he asked.

Another pause. "We're not...Ghost, just think of us as dead."

That was enough to make Ghost stop breathing for awhile. He was processing what she had said in his mind. The outcome wasn't really something he wanted.

"Ghost...we can't leave this place. If we do...we will be gone forever."

Ghost stood up, and found himself feeling a little different. "Who told you this?"

again with the pause. "The Master."

"How...how long have you been here?"

"Not very long I can say...but you don't need a long time to know everything. The Master fills you with everything you need to know. And he...tries to erase your memory."

"Tries to what? Why do you remember then?"

"Ghost..." Umbreon looked away. Ghost was about to speak again, but she continued. "Look what the Master did to you."

Nobody did anything to—,"

At first, when she said that, he was thinking she meant that the little Pikachu was the Master, and that he had brutally beaten Ghost up. But no, this was more than physical, but still along those lines. Because Ghost finally noticed the yellow fur on his hands.

Ghost looked down on his entire body to realize the horror of what had _really_ become of him.

Yellow fur all over him and the lightning shaped tail was enough for him to comprehend that he had become a Pikachu.

"Ghost..." Umbreon said silently, "the Master switched bodies with you."

* * *

Venn was dragged into the room. All she was thinking in her head was the worst possible outcome. And strangely, it wasn't death. It was to be cursed. Because if she was cursed, then she would be hunted. And hunts usually led to death. 

The black liquid picked Venn up and held her above ground, upside down and just being held by the leg as she squirmed all over the place. And screamed too.

"Quiet!" yelled the Sableye—the Master.

Nope, she kept trying to break free.

The Master came closer. He was just right in front of Venn as she dangled. Then he put a claw right over her mouth while using the other to hold her head in place. He had a strong urge to break her neck. He had the power to do so. But he didn't.

"I won't hurt you, bitch." that last cuss was enough to make her stop squirming. It was enough that she was in front of a talking Pokémon; there didn't have to be that other need of having a _cussing_ Pokémon.

"Good," the Master said. He smiled. "Now that I've got your attention, I need a favor."

"Are you going to kill me?" Venn asked quickly.

"No."

There was a short pause, but then Venn asked again, "are you going to curse me?"

The Master took a moment of thinking on that one. "I was thinking about it. But no."

"What do you want then?"

"As I said before. A favor."

"Wh—what kind of favor?"

The Master smiled. "Tell me, what are you good at?"

"What am I good at...?"

the black liquid let her fall to the floor. She landed on her back instead of her head. That was good. But at the second that she had, the Master was there waiting for her.

"Tell me now."

"Why do you want to know?" Venn asked, losing the fear in her voice.

"I'll tell you why as soon as I know what It is I should give you. Or would you like to be as most of you would call, 'cursed'?"

Venn paused. Should she tell him what she was good at? It was that or being cursed. Would he curse her anyways?

"I've...I've worked for a couple of years...betraying people...conning them with an accomplice of mine..."

"Who have you betrayed?"

She didn't want to answer the question, but she knew she was going to have to anyways. There was no way around it.

"I've betrayed...Team Rocket...Team Aqua...and Team Magma..."

"And do they know who you are?"

"What?"

"I said do they know who you are? Are they after your ass right now, or do they have no clue whatsoever?"

she was quiet again, but then answered, "They don't know anything."

That's when the Master smiled again. "You're perfect."

* * *

That really did hurt. Alex couldn't move any part of his body, and he didn't know why. What was making matters worse was that he was sinking underwater. He tried swimming up, but couldn't. It hurt. 

Quickly, before he did something that could possibly drown him, Alex tried his best from all the pain in his head and bones to swim to one of the poles holding up the boardwalk. He could see it, and wished so much to get to it, but his head hurt too much. He didn't think he could make it.

But with one hard swing, he managed to scratch at it, and pull himself towards the pole. He didn't climb it. He just stayed put. He tried waiting until the headache went away.

Every time he would turn his mind to a question, any for that matter, his head would hurt.

After awhile, the headache began to go away. There were footsteps on top where the boardwalk was. He knew right away that it was Derek.

"Alex?" that question confirmed it.

Alex tried to call out to him, but found himself choking on his words. He was still disoriented.

More running footsteps, then Alex heard a man saying sorry and Derek asking if the man had seen a Sableye. Nothing more.

"Alex, where are you?"

"I'm right here." Alex whispered. He didn't think Derek heard him. Then he heard Derek's footsteps walk the other way.

"Wait!" Alex whispered again. He pushed himself to the next pole. Of course, it was a bit far, so he had to swim a bit, then held on to that one and pushed himself to the next one, wherever he heard Derek's footsteps.

Then he remembered the first time he had caught Ghost; the technique Ghost was using in order to get away from him. Would it work?

There was only one way to find out.

Alex looked up the pole. He hoped that he would be able to do this. To a human, this really wasn't something easy to do. But he surprised himself by actually being able to do it.

He pulled himself up the pole, climbing it with a bit of ease. He wasn't climbing it as fast as Ghost was climbing the walls when he first caught him, but it was enough.

Once he reached the top, he was a bit more afraid of what he was about to do next. He planned to climb upside down on the bottom of the boardwalk. Ghost had made it seem simple enough...but Alex wasn't Ghost. He didn't know anything about climbing that way.

Well, he decided to give it a shot. By then, the headache had gone away completely.

Alex placed his claw onto the boardwalk and made sure he had a _good_ grip. He tested it by pulling away and seeing if he would slip. But he didn't.

Alex then was stuck. He didn't know which to put next; the leg to go sideways or his other hand. The gravity was still there, so it made everything feel weird.

He tried reaching his other hand to get another good grip on the boardwalk.

"This isn't working," Alex said, panicking. That was the biggest mistake he could make. His hands slipped and he fell backwards, first hitting his head on the pole because he still had a grip with his feet, then letting go and falling into the water. Fortunately, Derek caught sight of him from far off and ran back, hoping to reach Alex in time to help him.

* * *

Venn stood up and backed away. She got closer to the door, but didn't dare open it. "What do you want me to do." 

The Master shushed her with a finger. "How did you get stuck in the middle of this, between these three teams."

That was another question Venn didn't want to answer. "I don't know...but ever since it started, I can't stop. I have to keep doing this or else they will find me. And then they will kill me."

The Master got closer. "I can make it so that you won't have to do this anymore." Venn seemed slightly interested, and this was getting the Master happy. "I have to ability to make everyone forget you ever did anything against them. I can make it so they could forget everything about you, then you can live a careless life that you wish. I can do this for you."

"What about my accomplice?"

"I can do this to you both. But first, I want a favor."

"Okay, what's the favor then?"

Venn really didn't want to know what she was about to do. But it was help...she could be free...she could live a life without betrayal. And a life with Henry...

"I want you to bring me Charley."

There was a short pause. "Who?" Venn asked.

"On the submarine by Team Aqua, there was a human with others stuck in the middle of this. I assume this is what you were looking for, wasn't it?" it took only a moment, but Venn nodded. "I need you in that submarine, and I need you to bring me Charley. Make him trust you, then bring him to me. Right here, in this same room."

"But—that sub sunk moments ago...and even if I could get in it, how would I get Charley to trust me? I'm a Team Rocket member, it's completely obvious with my uniform."

"Oh, but I won't send you down there with your uniform."

"You—you can change my clothes?"

"I can change more than that," replied the Master. He looked at himself, then back at Venn. "Awhile ago, I summoned one of the cursed off the ship so I can find someone to get Charley to me. This cursed ones name was Ghost. I don't believe they know what happened to him." he then pointed to himself. "I'm right now using his body." Venn cringed a bit. "I'm gonna send you down there as Ghost. Make friends with him, then bring him to me." Venn stood still. She didn't know what to do. "Are you ready?"

Venn looked straight at the Master. "Are you sure you can free me and Henry?"

"Henry as in your accomplice?" asked the Master. She nodded. "I can do this. Now I'm counting on you to bring him to me. Can you do this for me?"

There was a long silence. Then, Venn nodded. "Yes."

* * *

"Oh no!" the Rocket member was right outside the door. He didn't know what to do anymore. Venn was probably already cursed. If he wanted any chance of living, he would run off and find others. Staying there was suicide. 

yet...he found himself unable to move. After a long while of deciding it over, he decided what was best for him. And the best thing to do was to keep going. He gave a final prayer for Venn and began to leave.

Just as he did, the door burst open with smoky black liquid pushing far forward. The door flew across the hall as the black liquid also followed.

The Rocket member hid, trying not to be spotted by the curse. But it didn't go after him. It kept going straight.

* * *

It was quite awhile since the Aqua sub had gone under. Just as everything was beginning to calm down above deck, there was an explosion on the side, with the black liquid smoke spilling into the sea. It fell and kept going under, swiftly with no disturbance. 

The last of the liquid smoke jumped in, with only a couple of passengers able to spot it. But now that they were looking down below...there was light. And it was getting closer to the surface. Questions were coming above in the ship.

Then someone screamed at the top of his lungs, "OH SHIT! It's a MISSILE!"

Many began to run from the spot of the light, but there wasn't enough time. The missile hit right at the middle. Fire erupted from all around that area, and shot straight up. The ship had been stricken right in the middle. And it seemed that it was going to fall apart with that hit.

Cracks came all around the top deck as people ran in all directions, ready for possibly the worst disaster in recorded history. Fire erupted from the cracks. It seemed that the halls were all going to get fried. That meant that anyone in the halls were going to...

* * *

A little bit of info, since it has been awhile and most likely no one remembers: in an earlier chapter, I showed Charley being attacked by a Pikachu that had cursed him before. This Pikachu was called Greg. And boy, was he sircussalot. The Pikachu in this chapter (which as you read became Ghost) is that same Pikachu, Greg (teh Mastah!), only Charley never had the time to find out what truely happened between the gap of the day the curse was "destroyed" and the day it "seeked to destroy" again. So, the information given by Umbreon is kind of telling you what happened when the curse was destroyed. I'm saying this now because I wouldn't want to get a review saying, "hey, but that's not what you said in chapter so and so!" Yeah, technically Charley never knew what happened in the gap, so he couldn't say anything, now could he? lol

And another amount of info, if you remember in chapter 25, Venn says that she would never want anything to do with Team Aqua or something to that effect. Remember that she was saying that to Henry, it doesn't mean that she never had been with Team Aqua or Magma before. ;)

PS, did you notice I toned down his cussing? XD


End file.
